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4 COMPLAINTS ABOUT COMPUTER TAPE
(And how Memorex solves them!)

"f,

Complaint. Cinching during shipping, use or handling results when reel is wound under improper
tension or exposed to temperature extremes.
Solution. Precision winding, special packing and
careful shipping are examples of attention to detail
that insure cinch-free delivery every time.

Complaint. Semi-permanent ridging and loss of
contact caused by microscopic scratches produced
in manufacturing or use.
Solution. Memorex-designed manufacturing facilities include equipment unique to the industry which
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produce scratches.

Memorex tape is premium tape. No need to pre-check it. You
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Memorex certification means what it says: Memorex computer tape i! error-free. Extra care, extra steps and scrupulous attention to every detail make it that way. We know the
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Circle No. 6 on Readers Service Card

Complaint. Wavy edge caused by improper slitting.
Solution. Specially designed Memorex slitters and
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Complaint. Dropout-causing clumps of redeposited coating (50X magnification).
Solution.Memorex has developed coating formulations and processing methods to achieve superior
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Memorex tape is essentially redeposition-free.

Are you on our mailing list to receive the
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technical literature? Write 1176 Shulman Road,
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MEMOREX
PRECISION

MAGNETIC

TAPE

NEW COMPUTERS /NEW PRICES
At Spring Joint Computer Conference 3C introduced DDP-224, faster than the DDP-24. Multi-processor
options were also announced. At the same time a Van-Mounted DDP was unveiled. Prices on the 24 were
reduced May 1 to reflect production economies. With this advertisement, 3C announces the DDP-24A (modified I/O capabilities) and previews the DDP-24P. portable version of the 24, small enough to pass through
submarine hatches. Extensive software and user services are basic to all models. Write for complete details.
DDP-224
New 24·bit word DDp·224 features: 1.9 psecs (0.8
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Fully buffered control unit, access distribution unit
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computer systems with functionally common and/
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input/output facilities and peripherals.

Priced in multiples
of the DDP- 224.

DDP-24
The DDP-24 general purpose computer with indirect
addressing, hardware index register and I/O character buffer features parallel machine organization,
powerful instruction repertoire, sign/magnitude
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computations per second with 5 psec access.

DDP-24A
A version of the standard DDP-24 which substitutes
teletype paper tape and teleprinter I/O for the
paper tape reader, punch, and I/O typewriter.
Same mainframe features.

579,000
569,000

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The Van Mounted DDP-24 is a rugged, compact,
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587,000

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The Portable DDP-24 is being manufactured to
offer full computer capability in an ultra-compact
configuration to meet demands for shipboard, airborne and other applications requiring portable
computer installations.

Pricing and proposals on RFQ.

3C DDP's have been delivered for real-time simulation, on-line data conversion, open-shop scientific and
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Circle No. 7 on Readers Service Card

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

This is Computape reel # 8741-11

#8741-11 was part
of an order shipped to the Engineering
Department of a leading University. There
it was selected at random and subjected
to a continuous wear test. In 268,853
passes no permanent dropouts were experienced.
Y es,':outstanding ... But
another example of the longer wear
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= Reel

. Test it yourself. Against any other tape.

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COMPUTRON INC.
122 CALVARV STREET, WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

,;'

Our front cover shows
the application of a computer to
real-time control of quality in cars
as they are being assembled.
For more details, see the story on page 37.

©(Q)CFlFDCQ)(J1]~~[FJ§

CSJ[Fl}©J ~Ch£]~@Ulfi)C6J~a @Iril
computers and data processors:
the design, applicatiom,
and implicatiom of
in/ormation processing systems.

JULY, 1964 Vol. XIII, No. 7

editor and publisher
EDMUND C. BERKELEY

assistant editors
MOSES M. BERLIN
NEIL D. MACDONALD
LINDA LADD LOVETT

111 This Issue
16

A SURVEY OF INPUT/OUTPUT EQUIPMENT

THE USED COMPUTER MARKET - 1964: A BROKER'S VIEW

THE USED COMPUTER MARKET: HOW IBM SHAPES IT

THE ECONOMICS OF LEASE VS. RENTAL OF COMPUTERS

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

contributing editors
ANDREW D. BOOTH
NED CHAPIN
JOHN W. CARR, III
ALSTON S. HOUSEHOLDER
PETER KUGEL

advisory committee
T. E. CHEATHAM, JR.
GEORGE E. FORSYTHE
RICHARD W. HAMMING
ALSTON S. HOUSEHOLDER
HERBERT F. MITCIIELL, JR.

associate publisher
PATRICK J. MCGOVERN

by Norman Stat land and John Hillegass
by George H. Heilborn
by Nicholas H. Dosker, Jr.
by Robert Sheridan
by Dick H. Brandon and Frederick Kirch

IIZ Every Issue
across the editor's desk
37

editorial

production manager
ANN B. CAllER

art director
RAY W. HASS

circulation manager
VIRGINIA A. NELSON, 815 Washington St.
Newtonville, Mass. 02160, 617-DEcatur 2-5453

advertising representatives
New York lB, BERNARD LANE
37 West 39 St., 212-BRyant 9-7281

8
9

San Francisco 5, A. S. BABCOCK
605 Market St., 415-YUkon 2-3954
Elsewhere, THE PUBLISHER
815 Washington St., 617-DEcatur 2-5453
Newtonville, Mass. 02160

FORUM ON THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS AND
AUTOMATION
Social Implications of Computers and Automation, by Dr. Herbert W.
Robinson

l O A Socia I Appl i cation of Computer Power to I rrigation Damage

II
II

Ten Revolutions in One

Computer Unemployment

editor's scratchpad

Chicago 11, COLE, MASON AND DEMING
737 N. Michigan Ave., 312-SU 7-6558
Los Angeles 5, WENTWORTH F. GREEN
300 S. Kenmore Ave., 213-DUnkirk 7-8135

COMPUTING AND DATA PROCESSING NEWSLETTER

New Devices and Systems Produce a Sharp Slow-Down in White Collar
Hiring

readers' and editor's forum
28
32

Dramatic Input Development
of Coming Events

Calenda~

reference _information
53
54

Computer Census
New Patents, by Raymond R. Skolnick

index of notices
54

Advertising Index

COMPUTERS AND AUTOMATION IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT 815 WASHINGTON ST., NEWTONVILLE 60, MASS., BY BERKELEY ENTERPRISES, INC. PRINTED IN U.S.A. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: UNITED STATES,
$15.00 FOR 1 YEAR, $29.00 FOR 2 YFARS, INCLUDING THE JUNE DIRECTORY ISSUE; CANADA, ADD 50c A YEAR FOR POSTAGE; FOREIGN, ADD $1.50 A YEAR FOR POSTAGE. ADDRESS ALL EDITORIAL AND
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POSTMASTER: PLEASE SEND ALL FORMS 3579 TO BERKELEY ENTERPRISES, INC .• 815 WASHINGTON ST.. NEWTONVILLE, MASS .• 02160. © COPYRIGHT, 1964, BY BERKELEY ENTERPRISES, INC. CHANGE
OF ADDRESS: IF YOUR ADDRESS CHANGES, PLEASE SEND US BOTH YOUR NEW ADDRESS AND YOUR OLD ADDRESS (AS iT APPEARS ON THE MAGAZINE ADDRESS IMPRINT), AND AllOW THREE WEEKS
FOR THE CHANGE TO BE MADE.
COMPUTERS AND AUTOMATION, FOR JULY, 1964

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• • • through Chemistry

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Circle No. 9 on Readers Service Card

What's the connection?

Telephones are for people talk . .. for
making appointments, planning meetings,
discussing problems, inquiring, informing,
announcing, explaining.
DATA-PHONE data sets are for machine talk
... for transmitting inventories, payrolls, sales
figures, receivables and other business data
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Combine the two services ... and you'll
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Our Communications Consultant is ready
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Bell Telephone System
Serving you
Circle No. lOon Readers Service Card

FORUM ON THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
OF COMPUTERS AND AUTOMATION

c&a
EDITORIAL

There is growing realization that the United States and
many other countries of the world are faced with an unprecedented problem of enormous importance:

The Social Implications of Computers
and Automation
We, the editors of this magazine, believe that the combination of computers and automation is placing before men
in the United States and in the world the possibility of one
of the greatest opportunities for good that has ever existed,
and also one of the greatest potentials for social disasterif this powerful new force is not intelligently guided.
The technical capacity for abundance, peace, and fruitful
leisure has arrived; is human wisdom to use ·it also available?
To focus on the social implications of computers and automation, and what to do about these implications, we are
setting up a special forum on this subject in these pages.
Among the persons whom we have invited to start off
this discussion, a continuing dialogue, is Dr. Herbert W.
Robinson, President of C-E-I-R, Inc., Washington, D. C.,
whose organization has computing centers in many cities.
We should like to invite all those persons who have
something of importance to say on this subject to contribute
their ideas to this forum.
Some of the contributions to this new forum will be
articles, perhaps 1000 to 1500 words, in which thoughts and
ideas may be developed and argued at some length. Others
of the contributions may be simply a few paragraphs or
sentences, which contain remarks or comments of significance to the thinking that needs to be done.
We believe that the 30,000 people in the electronic computing and data processing field who read "Computers and
Automation" each month should be in the vanguard of
those persons who come to grips with the social implications
of computers and automation and who take the major steps
towards socially beneficial solutions.
We hope that this forum will aid our readers' influence
in the shaping of this vast new force towards the greatest
possible advantage of all of humanity.

~c:: . ~
EDITOR

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
OF COMPUTERS AND AUTOMATION

Dr. Herbert W. Robinson
President, C-E-I-R, Inc.
Washington, D. C. 20006

Although, to many, computers and automation represent
a new unemployment threat of awesome dimensions, this
basic problem has been with man since time began. Every
labor-saving innovation, even the most primitive plough,
has seemed to be an enemy to those engaged in the particular activity involved. One can imagine a pessimist in 1946
pointing out (with complete statistical accuracy) that (a)
there was then a labor force of 61 million people, 212 million of whom were unemployed, (b) over the next 17 years,
on account of automation, output per man would increase
by 65% so that a 35 12 million labor force could produce
the same output, and _(c) in the same period 40 million

new workers would enter the labor force. Hence, how
could mass unemployment possibly be avoided? The answer is of course that over the 17 years 1946-1963 our economy has actually spent the income generated by the increased productivity, and the labor force has automatically
been sucked into employment. On the whole our economic
system does work (although it is true that we experience
today somewhat higher percentage levels of unemployment
than in 1946). Another more vivid example of the apparent anomaly that drastic increases in productivity per head
need not lead to mass unemployment is the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century. Following the invention

DR. HERBERT W. ROBINSON, President of C-E-I-R, Inc.,
got his doctor of philosophy degree from Balliol College, Oxford, England, in 1939. His career in government service began in 1939 as assistant to Lord
Cherwell, advisor to Prime Minister Churchill of
Great Britain, and ended as deputy division director
in the Defense Production Administration of the
United States in 1953. He has been president of
C-E-I-R (Corporation for Economic and Industrial
Research) since then. He is a member of many societies induding the Royal Statistical Society, and
author of numerous publications.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

of the steam engine and the exploitation of coal and stee!'
employment in the British Isles boomed. In fact, it became
so great that by the early nineteenth century it had even
drawn children by the millions into the labor force in the
coal mines and textile mills, a sign of labor shortage rather
than of under-employment. Fortunately, today, we will
never again permit economic forces to produce such socially
undesirable results.
The hasic fact is that if the whole society views the potential of automation to increase output per head as a boon
rather than as a threat to employment, we have within our
grasp a golden age of prosperity for America. The greatest
danger is that fear of unemployment will inhibit us from
enjoying the full fruits of this tremendous technological
advance. Although it represents a new "industrial revolution" it cannot possibly occur overnight. The speed with
which the advance occurs will be controlled mainly by the
tremendous investments required to automate our major
industries. There is only so much saving in the economy
and therefore only so much investment in new automation
that can be financed. Moreover, the new technologies demand large increases in highly skilled occupations, and
there is a limit to the rate at which qualified personnel
become available. These limitations themselves bring the
problem down to manageable proportions.
A fundamental error which plagues our thinking when
discussing automation is an implicit and erroneous assumption that there is a fixed number of jobs and that any reduction in the number of people required to produce a
unit of output will automatically throw people out of work.
This is equivalent to saying that the society only demands
a certain fixed income and that if we can produce this income with less people less will be employed. What is overlooked here is that man's wants are unlimited and we all
desire to have the greatest income possible. If, then, we
assume that society wants as much income as possible, then,
regardless of how few people are required per unit" of outpat, all the people will always be employed. This is, of
course, only theoretically true, and frictions and limitations
within our economy always prevent full employment being
achieved in practice, sometimes to such a degree that we
experience a recession or even a depression. But certainly
the forces at work tend very strongly in the direction of
bringing everyone into employment.
To those who deplore automation on the grounds that
they do not believe we can spend or even want the income
it can generate, I would simply ask the question, "Where
are the millions of families in the United States who do
not know how to spend additional income?" Indeed, are
not the vast majority full of plans, hopes, and aspirations
that are unrealizable today simply because they do not have
the income to spend? In reality the average American family prefers more income to more leisure if the choice is
clearly put. Very few families are at a level of income
where they really prefer increased leisure to increased income. At the very least the increased income is needed
to fully enjoy the leisure aln;ady available with the 40-hour
week, the annual vacations, and the retirement ages we
have today.
The fear of inability to absorb the output of automation
becomes ludicrous if one contemplates for a moment the
mass of poverty in the United States. What must a family
at the lowest level of living in the slums of New York,
Chicago, or St. Louis feel, when it hears our statesmen
debating whether we might not be in danger of producing
more than we can consume? Simple arithmetic will show
that merely to bring all families in the United States to a
minimum income level of say $7,500 per annum will require all the automation of which we arc capable for decacles to come. If we also look beyond our own shores to
the underdeveloped countries of the world, seething with
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

poverty and frustration and lured by the SIren-song of Communism, the idea that we can produce too much seems an
insult to the intelligence. For our own selfish political reasons, if for no other, the U. S. is bound to have to contribute greater quantities of its resources to assisting the underdeveloped countries of the world achieve some economic
progress. There is a ready home for all the excess production we can possibly produce.
Looked at in this way then, automation is a wonderful
new revolution promising mankind benefits equivalent in
scale to those brought about through the industrial revolution 200 years ago. To fully exploit the·economic potential
available for a more secure and prosp"erous world requires,
however, one vital ingredient-:good management. The
whole problem is one of mobility of labor, training at all
levels, and above all more intelligent and ef.ective management by government, labor, industry and business cooperating as a unified team. Government must acknowledge
the problem and become a dynamic catalyst to speed up
the adjustments needed to fully exploit the potentials of
the new industrial revolution. The Office of Manpower
Automation and Training is an excellent step in this direction but its efforts to date have been puny compared with
those actually required. Labor, for its part, must decide
what it Teall)' wants and whether automation is an enemy
or an ally. To my mind it is an ally that can secure for
labor and our American society tremendous advances in
living standards and culture. The challenge to the management of our labor unions is to identify the right policies
and goals for which organized labor should strive and to
work with government and industry to solve the problems
involved rather than to run away from them by merely obstructing automation.
For industry and business the challenge is even greater.
:Management must analyze in detail the impacts of automation OIl the future, and plan its investment programs
intelligently and imaginatively to secure the full fruits for
the whole economy. Revolutionary changes in organization, operations, systems, procedures and personnel policies
within companies and industry must be accomplished
through the most careful detailed analysis and planning.
Training and education become of crucial importance for
management of American industry and business in such an
environment. The whole nation literally m!.lst roll up its
shirt sleeves, go to school, and get down to detail if it is to
put automation to work in a free enterprise system such as
ours. We will get nowhere by yielding to fear and retreating before the formidable task involved, but if all concerned
develop appropriate objectives, imaginative policies, and
above all detailed plans, we can quickly enter an era of
prosperity such as would have been undreamed of even one
generation ago.

A SOCIAL APPLICATION OF COMPUTER
POWER TO IRRIGATION DAMAGE
Irrigation damage severely affects 6Y2 million acres in the
Indus Valley in West Pakistan. Here the population is
increasing a t the ra te of 10 more mouths to be fed every 5
minutes and where, every 5 minutes, an acre of land is being lost through water-logging and salinity.
The Indus and its tributaries created the soils of the Punjab and the Sind. In the alluvial plains which they laid
down, one of the earliest civilizations flourished, the relics
of which are still to be found at Harappa and MohenjoDaro, settlements which existed 5,000 years ago. In the
nineteenth century, the British began a big program of
farm settlement in lands which were fertile but with low
rainfall. Barrages and distribution canals were constructed,
and those engineering works have been massively extended,

•

and the irrigation system intensified, since Pakistan became
independent. TI~e 23 million acres watered by canals is
the largest single irrigated region in the world.
Today the system, and the livihoods of the 30 million
people who depend upon it, are seriously threatened. Over
40,000 miles of canals have been dug into the surface of
the Indus plain. Apart from the water which is spread
oyer the fields, some 40 per cent of the water in the unlined
distribution canals seeps underground and does not find
its way back into the river, to be drained into the sea. The
result is that the water-table has risen. Before the canals,
the water-table was generally well below the surface. Only
in some areas close to the river was it between 5 to 15 feet.
After 70 years of irrigation, the picture has changed completely. The water-table of large areas has risen close to the
surface, and low-lying areas have become water-logged,
drowning the crops. In other parts, the water creeps continually upwards from the water-table to the surface, where
it evaporates, leaving its dissolved salts to accumulate in the
top layers of the soil, poisoning the crops. At the same
time, the irrigation regime, which uses on an average I Y2
feet of water a year, spreads the surface water, with its own
dissolved salts, so thinly that it evaporates, leaving a crust
of salt.
This combination of water-logging and salination is producing deterioration at the rate of about 100,000 acres a
year. In one district of the Punjab, the extent of waterlogging and salination is already more than 50 per cent of
the culturable land.
This serious situation led President Ayub Khan of Pakistan to ask President Kennedy of the USA to send a
group of scientists to study the problem. A panel of 20
specialists was appointed from many disciplines, in the natural, agricultural, engineering, and social sciences. The
specialists did the studies in the field, and referred the
complex calculations to the electronic computers and a team
of graduates at Harvard. The answers at which they arrived showed the difficulty and the expense of repairing
the damage. The proposals involve vertical drainage, using
tube-wells and electric pumps to bring the underground
water to the surface, where it can be used for irrigation and
to sluice the dissolved salts in the surface layers back underground. Evaporation from this system will help to lower
the water-table.
The panel, however, urged that the water-logging and
salination problem should not be considered merely in
terms of recl'.lmation, but should be combined with measures to increase agricultural productivity. The scheme proposed, reclamation and farm improvement, is estimated to
take 25 years and to cost over two billion dollars.
-From "Science and Technology for Development. Report
on the United Nations Conference on the Application of Science
and Technology fQr the Benefit of the Less Developed Areas.
Volume 1. World ot Opportunity." United Nations, New York,
1963, pp. 5-6.

this the computer age-for you are in the vanguard of this
revolution.
You know, it is about 10 revolutions "wrapped into one."
The Computer Revolution is economic, it's socio-psychological, scientific, technological, military, informational,
managerial, international, educational; yes, it is all of
these-and profound in its impact on public policy . . . .
Educationally the computer is changing the world so
rapidly that it requires rededication to a learning process
which is lifelong....
-From the luncheon address of Senator Hubert H. Humphrey
at the Spring Joint Computer Conference, 'Washington, D. C.,
April 23, 1964.

NEW DEVICES AND: SYSTEMS
PRODUCE A SHARP S,LOWDOWN
IN WHITE-COLLAR HIRINC
The table below shows the slowdown in the growth rate
for all white-collar jobs:
Average Yearly

Gain
1950 to 1960
2.81%

Gain in

1962
2.6%

1963
0.9%

There is abundant evidence that automation-and its
accompanying efficiencies-is primarily responsible for the
slower growth rate in office employment.
"N ew machines and new systems have enabled us to
bring at least a temporary halt to the long and steady rise
in our office employment," says Fred Oswald, a personnel
vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., large
New York City bank. The bank's employees fell to 10,080
in 1963 from 10,345 in 1962, in spite of continuing climbing business. . . .
-Based on the report "Office Automation" by T. Stanton, in
"The Wall St. Journal," May 5, 1964.

TEN REVOLUTIONS IN ONE
The plain fact is that history's most profound revolutions
have been underestimated, and they have been underestimated by their contemporaries. In fact, I think people
underestimate the Negro Revolution taking place in this
country. I think the Congress of the United States is underestimating it, I think that practically every civic leader in
America is underestimating it, because possibly we're too
close to it; but it is here, just as surely as the computer
revolution is here. All of history is full of the wreckage of
nations, societies, classes-which underestimated the nature
and power of revolutions.
I do hepe this audience will not underestimate the power
and the nature of the revolution that you have cut looseCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

"Hello, Daily Tribune? Here's a headline for you one man just put four computers out of work!"

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Circle No. 11 on Readers Service Card

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

EDITOR'S
SCRATCH PAD

SOMETHING NEW FROM THA T FADED 1401 '?

We are pleased to present in this issue two important articles that examine one of the major new market areas in the computer field ... the Used Computer
Market. These reports offer some of the answers to
the question of what will happen to your faithful yet
sluggish model XXX computer when it has served its
time and is replaced by the speedy new model ZZZ.
Of course, the key variable shaping the future of
this market is how many replaced computers will actually find their way into the used equipment market.
Since only between 25% and 30% of the computers in use
in this country are owned by their user, the policies of
the manufacturer determine to a considerable extent
the supply and demand factors that will affect the models and prices of equipment you can buy in the used computer market.
The computer with the largest number of existing computer installations is the IBM 1401, with a population currently estimated at about 7000. In fact, from
the time installations of its new System/360 computers
begin in late summer of 1965, to the end of 1968, IBM
can expect to have about 5000 used 1401 data processing
systems returned from customers who currently have
this equipment on a rental basis. This huge inventory
of leased equipment, currently generating more than
$20, 000, 000 per month in revenue, itself exceeds in income generating power all the computer installations of
any of IBM's competitors.
Since most of the returned systems will have averaged about four years of installation time on a paying
basis, IBM will have already earned back their investment in development, production and selling costs on
these systems as well as its standard 40% return on
this investment. However IBM is carefully studying
ways to produce additional revenues from this equip.ment in the form of products that would not be directly
competitive with its existing product line.
We understand that IBM's most likely move here
is to incorporate the circuits in the central processor
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

of the 1401, and its internal storage, into a new small
computer designed for business applications, and planned for introduction next year. This computer, when
surrounded with new low-cost peripherals for handling
cards and paper tape now under· development at IBM,
will rent for $600 and $900 per month. Prototype models of this new small computer are believed to be operating at IBM's General Products Laboratory in San
Jose, Calif. According to an executive at that location,
the use of the parts from returned 1401 processors in a
new small computer is "a distinct possibility. It is common knowledge that the circuit cards in the 1401 are
standard products, and can be reconnected in many
ways ... you can draw your own conclusions. "
In introducing such a machine IBM would not be
the first computer manufacturer to repackage used computer hardware and give it a new name and a lower
price. The first units of Burroughs' recently announced
B100 computer series are composed of returned B200
processors surrounded by some low-cost peripheral
devices. Control Data has recently made some slight
modifications to its 160A computer and relabeled it the
8090 control computer. The company plans to build
8090' s from the ground up as well as refurbish used
160A's as they become available. The 8090 sells for
only $29,000 compared to about $70, 000 for a 160A when
new.
The introduction of this machine would also be
IBM's first entry into the very small general purpose
computer market ($500 to $1200 per month) ... an area
currently finding many homes for computers made by
Friden, General Precision, Burroughs, Clary, and
Monroe. Only IBM's 6400 magnetic ledger card machine
shares part of this market. Buying such a small computer is normally the first step into the computer field for
the organization who has confined its data processing
operations to the punched card calculating equipment. A
capable computer in the $600 to $900 a month range using
punched card equipment would conceivably have a market
in the next five years for between 5000 to 7000 machines
among the estimated 23, 000 punched card installations
in the United States. An indication of this market potential was highlighted recently when Burroughs announced
that it had obtained over 600 orders, worth $15, 000, 000,

for its low cost E2100 computer ($535 per month) within
three months of its announcement date.
Since IBM will have already written off most of
the development and production costs for this new small
computer, it should be able to offer a computer with a
data processing capability that enj oys a marked superiority to other low cost computers on the market in this
price range.

MERGERS SIGNAL INCREASED
COMMITMENT TO THE COMPUTER
FIELD FOR TWO MAJOR CORPORA TIONS

Martin Marietta recently signalled a major
attempt to broaden its position in the computer field by
announcing that an agreement has been reached in principle by which the assets and business of the Teleregister Corp., and the 90% MM owned Bunker-Ramo Corp.
will be combined.
';Under the proposed program, Teleregister will
issue-an additional 4, 939, 000 sharesof stock, of which
1, 400, boo shares win be sold to Martin Marietta and
Thompson Ramo Wooldridge for cash at $15 per share
or $21,000,000, and the- balance will be issued to ac- '
-quire all the assets of Bunker-Ramo; . Ownership of the
enlarged firm will be vested 34.7% with existi.ng Teleregister stockholders, and the balance with MM' and
TRW:MM's 90% ownership of Bunker-Ram'o will mean
that it will retain 58.8% ownership in 'the new enterprise.

Immediate advantage to MM of the new enterprise: a strengthened posi-:;ion in bidding on command
and control systems for national defense, space exploration, and airway control, through Teleregister's lengthy experience in on-line information systems.
Union Carbide Corp. made a quiet but significant move into the computer field by acquiring Data Systems, Inc., the Detroit-based builder of a small, general purpose digital computer selling for about $12, 000.
Data Systems was established in Grosse Point,
Michigan in May, 1962. Its sole product to date, the
DSI 1000 comput~r, is a 'serial address, binary, stored
program machine. The computer, which is small
enough to fit into,a'file drawer, can be purchased as a
single unit for incorporation into a control system designed by the customer. However, 11 peripheral devices are available to provide a complete computer system for specialized applications. Primary market for
the DSI 1000 has been as a system control element in
process control, communication control, medical electronics, and system checkout applications.
Data Systems will operate as a separate subsidiary of Union Carbide, but as with other electronics
activities at VCC, DSI will be under the guidance and
control of the corporation's Linde Division: We have
learned that UCC will step up the sale's promotion activities of DSI considerably in the months ahead, and
may have an expanded version of the DSI 1000 ready for
introduction by mid-fall.

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FOR ... Bunker-Raino was formed earherthis year by
the combination of the Compu~r' arid Numerlcal Control
Division of TRW 'and the Electrortic Systems and Prn, ducts Division of MM. B-R currelltly has ov~r 1200 I':
s'6'ientists' and technicians on Its staff, alld is a wo!frd"
leader in the' development of on-l1rie'process control'
computer systems. ' , '
:
'
We find thenew'arrangement not urtexpe:<,:'ted ...
John Parker, President and Ghairman of 'Telereglster,
has been a board member of MM for several years, and
is a clbse friend of MM' President George 'Bunker. Parker has actively been seeking an affiliation with a larger
company for Teleregister since the lack of an adequate
marketing force'ha:s'hinde'red his company's growth in
recent years:' '
"
Teleregistero'flai:e has been!making a distinct
move toward becoming 'a peripheral equipment supplier
for 'EDP system builders ... fueirwindow machine for
savings hanks'is being incorporated into proposals by
RCA; : Ullivac, GE and' Honeywell. .. their model 100 and
200'CRT displays have~received favorable attention
from O. E. M. IS, e. g:, Uriivacns using several in their
serv'ice 'cente'rs;' The mefged firm should be able· to
move to'ward complete system development in several
markets\Vith the East Coast group (Teleregister)
specializing in peripheral equipment and the West Coast
group (B'-R) deveioping the central 'pro'cessors.

; We understand that IBM has developed a version of its 7094 computer using the same hybrid circuitry found in the System/360 ... but is delaying the
announcement of it to see how many existing 7090 series
users are willing to shoulder the huge reprogramming
costs involved in moving to the System/360. Computer is tentatively designated the 7095.
Watch for major expansion of Control Data's 3600
family, both fore and aft ... the 3100, 3300, and 3800.
The 3100 will be in the $3000 to $4000 per month range
forbas'ic systems, and should stack up as a good competitor in the' small scientific computer market being
served by the SDS-930, the DDP-224, the PDP-I, the
H-300, and historically, the IBM 1620. Control Data
is also expecting to announce an expanded version of
its giant 6600, called the 6800 ... which appears to be
the company's answer' to the model 90 of the System/
360.
General Elect:dc is also expected to enter the
small scientific computer market shortly with a 205
computer ... a 4K version of the 215. The minimum
configuration of the 205, with a paper tape reader!
punch and a console typewriter, will be only $1700 per
month. GE is obviously eyeing the IBM 1620 user as
a major prospect for this new machine.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

•

A real speed reader-2,OOO cards per minute.
We think you'll agree. Our new NCR
380 reader really is a whiz at cards.
As input to an NCR 315 Computer
System, it can read 2,000 punched
cards per minute. What's more, it
can edit, change format, and lay
the data down on magnetic tape

without reducing its reading rate.
There's nothing quite like it on the
market today. So if your system is
card oriented, you'll certainly want
to investigate the remarkable high·
speed capabilities of this new NCR
reader. It's another example of the

BE SURE TO VISIT THE NCR PAVILION AT THE NEW YORK WORLD'S. FAIR.

superior component features which
NCR provides computer users. For
more detailed information on the
new 380 card reader - or on NCR
Total System planning, call your
local NCR representative. Or write
to NCR, Dayton, Ohio. 45409.

THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY

Circle No. 12 on Readers Service Card

COMPUTERS and'AUTOMATION for; July, 1964

A SURVEY OF INPUT / OUTPUT EQUIPMENT

Norman Statland
John Hillegass
Auerbach Corp.
Philadelphia, Pa.

This article continues a series of important reference reports on computing equipment and techniques. Previous articles have been "Methods of
Evaluating Computer Systems Performance," February, 1964, page 18, and "Decision Tables and Their
Application," April, 1964, page 14. Further articles
in this series will report on high-speed printers and
optical character-recognition equipment.

As computer technology progresses and the utilization
of EDP systems by business increases, companies are becom-

ing more discriminating in their choice of a computer system. There is a realization by those who are knowledgeable-and surveys indicate the number of such individuals
is growing-that the variety and relative merits of the
available peripheral devices are extremely important in the
selection of an effective computer-system configuration.
Indeed, the decisions regarding these devices frequently are
the most significant decisions in computer system purchases.
Many types of peripheral equipment are in use with the
digital computer today: magnetic tape transports, card
readers and punches, punched-tape readers and punches,
high-speed printers, magnetic character readers, and the
more advanced devices such as optical character readers and
display units. Each type has definite characteristics that
This article is based upon material published in Auerbach
Standard EDP Reports, copyright © 1963 by Auerbach Corp.j
Info. Inc., Philadelphia, Pa. and is printed here with permission.
All rights reserved.

make it especially suitable for certain applications. Plainly,
it is necessary to evaluate each class of device and the wide
range of features associated with each product in the class
before making an actual decision.
We will briefly describe the current state-of-the-art of
these devices, restricting ourselves, for the purpose of this
article, to those more commonly used.

Equipment Types and Characteristics
Magnetic type transports are the prime input/output
devices being utilized today for large data volume applications. There are several reasons for their widespread
popularity. Except for magnetic disc storage,'*' magnetic
tape comes closest to the data-handlmg rates of modern
computers, and it permits large amounts of information to
be stored compactly. It is comparatively inexpensive and
economical to use, in that it can be erased and reused many
times (tape manufacturers estimate 20,000 to 50,000 passes).
Magnetic tape transports can perform both input and butput functions, and some units can read backward as well as
forward. In addition, magnetic tape can be used as a medium of communication between computers and other
peripheral devices.
Two major disadvantages persist, however, in the use of
magnetic tape as a com'puter input/output medium. Manual encoding of source data directly onto tape has not
proved practical; and data recorded on tape cannot be
read by humans. It is essential, therefore, to have data

'*' See "Appmisal of Random Access Equipment," N. Statland
and J. Hillegass, Datamation, Dec.. 1963.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

...

transcription £ac'hiti.es available prior to tape input and
following.tape output from the computer.
Punched card~, punched tape, or magnetically- or optically-sensed paper documents may provide source data
for the input transcription. The output transcription is
usually from magnetic tape to printed documents or
punched cards. A number of special-purpose units have
been specifically designed to meet the needs of transcribing
data to and from magnetic tape. But small general-purpose
computers, such as the IBM 1401 and Control Data Corporation 160-A, are now being used to control the transcribing functions in most large installations since they
cost only slightly more than special purpose, plugboard
controlled units and can also be used to perform other
functional tasks.
Several different methods are used in magnetic-tape transports to drive the tape past the read-write heads and to permit rapid starting and stopping of the tape despite the
inertia of the storage reels. Specifically, the tape may be
driven past the heads by a pinch roller, by a vacuum capstan, or by a clutch-operated capstan. Vacuum columns,
mechanical tension arms, or storage bins are used alone or
in combination in the take-up systems that damp the inertial effect of the tape reels. Magnetic-tape transports
commercially available have peak data transfer rates with a
range of about 2,000 to 600,000 alphanumeric characters
per second; most units are in the range of 20,000 to 100,000
characters per second. Recording densities range from 100
to 3,000 frames per inch. Start and stop times from 1.5 to
10 milliseconds are common with a median of about 3.5
milliseconds. Tape width is usually Y2, %' or 1 inch; the
number of channels recorded across the tape ranges from
7 to 32, although the former figure is predominant. A reel,
as a rule, holds 2,400 to 3,600 feet of tape and is capable
of storing from 2 million to 50 million characters, depending upon recording density and block lengths. Fixed
length blocks were used by most early magnetic tape transports, but almost all recent systems can handle blocks of
widely varying lengths.
The IBM 729 series, Models II, IV, V, and VI, are the
most widely used magnetic-tape transports available today.
These units utilize pinch-roller drives and vacuum-column
buffers. Tape-movement speeds are 75 to 112.5 inches per
second; recording densities are 200, 556, or 800, characters
per inch; and peak data-transfer rates vary from 15,000 to
90,000 characters per second. Six data channels and one
parity channel are recorded on Y2 inch wide tape. Variable-length blocks are separated by % inch blank spaces,
called "inter-record gaps." A "dual-gap" read-write head
permits data to be read and checked for correct parity immediately after it is recorded, so that recording errors can
be detected and corrected at the time of occurrence .
Magnetic tape transports that can read tapes recorded
by an IBM 729 unit have been termed "IBM-compatible,"
and several manufacturers are now producing tape transports that fit this classification. (However, two computer
systems having "IBM-compatible" tape transports will not
necessarily be compatible with one another in respect to
word length, data format, or character coding.)
Basic mechanical limitations, and the innate physical
characteristics of magnetic tape itself, limit the possibilities
of further performance improvement in magnetic-tapc transports with the standard techniques in use today. There
exists, however, considerable room for reduction in cost
and irriprovement in both reliability and simplicity of operation. Additional developments may be expected in lowcost tape transports of moderate performance and in cartridge-loaded units, such as the IBM Hypertape Drive.
Where high data transfer rates and rapid access to particular .items of data are needed, other devices, such as
magnetic disc files, will largely replace tape transports. In
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

all probability, though, magnetic tape will continuc to be a
major input/output medium for all except the smallest computers.
Canl Readers and Punches gained an early pre-eminence
as computer input/output equipment because most early
computers replaced or augmented punched-card tabulating
installations. Another factor was the high degree of flexibility inherent in a punched card. A punched card can be
key-punched manually, verified, interpreted, sorted, collated, reproduced, mark sensed, and, ultimately, read or
punched by a computer as a discrete document. Despite
this versatility, some drawbacks do exist. Erasing or correcting the punched data is difficult, and there i~ a fixed upper
limit on the amount of information that a card can hold.
The commonly used 80 and 90 column cards hold only 80
or 90 alphameric characters (or 960 or 540 binary bits).
Nonetheless, the punched card is still an outstanding
source document and is useful as an extern,al storage medium for permanent records, as well. In most large scale
systems, however, card-to-tape and tape-to-card transcription operations are performed off-line, bec;ause the data
transfer rate of card readers and punches is \elatively slow,
as compared to magnetic-tape transports. Therefore, all
input to and output from the main computer is on the
faster magnetic-tape medium.
Broadly speaking, the card readers and "punches used
in off-line transcriptions are similar to, or the same as, those
used in on-line operations. From a cost and scheduling
standpoint, though, it clearly would be aqyantageous to
elimina te the need for off-line data transcriptions. The
development of computers with multiprogpmming capabilities (which reduce the importance of higll speed input/
output for any single program), plus improvements in
both the speed and reliability of the card punches and the
readers themselves, may increase the use of on-line card
input and output in even the largest comput:r systems.
Most card readers and punches in use today, like their
forerunners-the gang punches, sorters, and collatorsuse a mechanical picker knife and pinch rollers to feed
the cards. Wire sensing brushes read data. f,!om the cards
and die punches record it in the cards. The majority of
card readers and punches read or punch one card row at a
time. The IBM 140.2 Card Read-Punch eml;>odies all these
conventional principles, developed to a high degree. It
combines an 800-card-per-minute reader and a 250-card-perminute punch in a single unit. A file feed on the reader
allows up to 3,000 cards to be loaded at a t,ime, and both
the reader and the punch can be loaded and unloaded
whil~ in operation. The 1402, in line with current trends,
has no plugboard control panels. Therefore, all editing
and format control must be handled by the stored computer program.
High performance card-reading equipment has evolved
primarily through the development of vacuum and belt
feeds, photoelectric reading stations, and it1p roved card
handling and mechanical construction techniques. Asynchronous feeds permit more efficient handli~g of the cards
by initiating card feeding as soon as the ippropriate instruction is given, thereby omitting the need to wait for a
fixed point in the reader's clutch cycle. Gards are frequently read serially by column, thereby redqsing the number of photocells required. Reading by column rather than
by row also simplifies code translation and buffering requirements. The NCR 380-3 and the PhiIco 258, both rated at
2,000 cards per minute (or 2,667 characters :per second for
fully punched cards), are the fastest card readers currently
available as standard equipment in U. S. computer systems.
The comparatively slow electro-mechanical movement of
the die punches has greatly limited the output speeds of
card punches. Progress here has been unimpressive; only a
modest increase in speed over the traditional 100-card-per-

minute pUllch has been achieved. The fastest commercially
available punches are the Burroughs B 304 and two UNIVAC models, all rated at 300 cards per minute. Soroban
Engineering, Inc., is working on a punch head that punches
four columns at a time arid achieves a peak speed of 450
fully punched 80 c()lumn cards per minute.
Because of the low speeds generally available in card
punches, system analysts usually try to reduce the required
volume of punched-card output. Nevertheless, card punches
will probably 'receive increased use in the creation of re~
entry documents produced by the computer, used by the
consumer, and then re-entered into the computer system
'
as input transaction records.
Punched Tdpe Readers and Punches rival, and in some'
ways surpass, punched card equipment in suitability for
external communication and data-entry \. purposes. Although less widely used than cards in commercial 'electronic
data processing systems today, punched tape seems' ~o be
gaining 'ground, largely because of strong mark~ting, emphasison punched tape as a "common language" medium for
communication among business machines of widely varying'
types-from cash registe'rs' and accounting machines to computers. Among small-scale sdentific' computers, punched
tape continues to be the 'primary input/output medium.
Punched tape, like punched cards, can'be produced by
manual keystroke, 'operations, can be verified, interpreted
arid reproduced. It can also be read or punched by a computer~' But, because of the continuous'natureofthe medium, punched-tape data files cannot be sorted or collated
off-line, 'as discrete card records. Nor can records be added
or deleted as easily as with the punched-card 'medium.
On 'the' other han:a, the continuous nature of punch'cd
tape provides some distinct advantages over cards:
.. Tape record lengths are fully variable; there is no
restrictive' u'pper 'limit as on punched cards and
little, if any, space 'is wasted when, the records are
short.
",
' ,
' '
• Punched-tape handling equipment can ge relatively
simple and inexpensive, making it practjcal, to pro- ,
duc;e tape ,records as a qirect· by-product of transactions on cash registers, adding machines" typewriters, and, many other business machines. These
point-of-entry tape records can greatly.facilitate the
preparation of computer input da'ta and the development of effective "integrated, systems~:'
Punched tape (often called "paper tape") inay be made
of oiled or unoiled paper, acetate;' 'Mylar, or Mylar-aluminum -laminates. Data is recorded on the tape by punching
roUlldholes into it. In the case of "chadless" tape, the
holes are not fully punched out but are left attached to the
tape, forming flaps. The tape can then be interpreted
(i,c., imprinted :with the symbols :represented by the tar>e
codes), but requires a machine different from the one used
with the, "chad-type" tape.
Punched tape is most frequently handled on reels, but
u,nreeled strips of tape and Janfold tape stored· in, canisters
are, als,O used. ,Edge-punched card,s-:-cards }Vith codes identical to,; those, usec.l, on tape punched along one; 01; more
margins~provide an interesting combination of some of the
advantages .of both punched tape and cards.
'
Nearly all plJnched tape in ,use 'at present is either, lY10
inch, %, inch, or one inch in width, and has,5" 6,.,7, or 8
da ta' )channels plus a sprocket, channel. The mast commonly used tape,- sizes,ar~ the ,fiv,e channel, 1~1{l-inchwide.
tape used in Teletype systems and eight channel, ,one-inch
wide tape. \ "
,The sprocket ,channel is composed of holes smaller than
the other ,channels and is used, to feed and/or clock ,the,
ta pc. Recording density is ten frames per inch of tape in
nearly all cases. When seven- or eight~channel .tape is used,

one channCI is usually assigned as a parity channel, permitting a check on reading accuracy. Horizontal parity
checking of five- or six-channel tape codes normally is not
possible.
Among punched-tape readers in use today, speeds range
from 10 to 2,000 characters per second, and in a few units,
bi-directional reading is possible. Mechanical readers,
which employ sensing pins or brushes, have performed
reliably at speeds of up to 100 characters per s<:;cond. For
higher speeds, photoelectric sensing u;chniques are usually
employed. Speeds above 1,000 characters per second are
unusual because of the mechall'ical problems ~hvolved in
transporting and, handling tape at the necessary velocities
of over 100 inches per second.
'
While numerous manufacturers have introduced punchedtape readers, few have made significant contributions to
the state-of-the~art. Two exceptions are the reflected light
and anemometer sensing techniques developed by Omnitronics and Soroban, respectively. A key factor in the evaluation of punched-tape transport mechanisms is their ability
(or lack of ability) to stop between characters. If a reader
lacks this capability, inter-record gaps will usually be required to prevenfloss of data.
Tape-punching equipment in present use is completely
mechanical and' therefore subject to the s~me mechanical
limitations on die-punch movement as are card punches.
The most widely used punch for on-line computer applications is the Teletype BRPE unit, which performs reliably
at a peak speed of 110 characters per second. The fastest
commercially ava'ilable tape punch is the 300-character-persecond Soroban GP-2, which, when given careful maintenance, has established a reasonably good relia'bility record.
No discussion of punched-tape equipment would be complete without mention of the Friden Flexowriter. This
low speed but remarkably versatile unit is an electric
typewriter with an integrated ten-character-per-sec6nd tape
reader and 'punch. When used on-line with a computer, it
can provide input via tape or keyboard, and output via tape •
and/ or printing. Off-line, a Flexowriter can 'be used for
manual tape punching, tape reproduc'tion, and tape listing, and is a key device for source'document preparation
in many integrated data-processing systems. Units that perform functions similar to' those of the Flexowriter have
recently been introduced by several other manufacturers.
Printe'ts have undergone a radical transformatiOn in their
role as computer output devices., The most common use for
early computers was in scientific applications with alim~
ited volume of output. Modified electric typ'ewriters capable of prin,til~g one character ai a time, at a' speed of about
10 characters per second, could handle the entire output
adequately. ~lectric 'typewrit~rs still serve as the ,primary
output device for many small-scale scientific computers and
as console input/output units in many larger systems.
Howeve'r, as the valtie was realized of utilizing computers
to solve business problems, output volumes increased significantly, hecessitating the development of much faster print-.
iri g devices. Consequently, high-speed line printers now
provide the primary means of making data, available for.
scrutiny by 'humans after it has been processed by the
computer.
Existing high speed printers can be divided into two
basic types:
• Impact printers, which pri~t ,by means of a mechanically 'driven type' bar or wheel pressed against
paper and ribbo~.
' "
"
• Non-impact, printers,' which, :form an image on some
medium, generally' by electric~l charg~s. 'The image
is tl~en 'developed, fixed, or rendered' opaque to produce a; visible record:
·An overwhelming, majority Qf the high speed printers in,
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964,

use in data processing installations today are impact printers, and these c,an be further sub-divided according to the
method of printing they employ:
• Stick printers-The single-element stick printer provides printed output at speeds intermediate between
typewriter and line-printer speeds. Typically, stick
printers employ an eight-sided metal printing element with eight characters embossed on each face,
providing a total of 64 printable characters. One
character is printed at a time, and the entire printing assembly moves horizontally across the platen
from one position to the next. The best-known example of a stick printer is the IBM 370, used in the
RAlVIAC 305 systems. This unit has a peak speed of
~bout 30 full SO-character lines per minute.
• Type-bar and wheel printers-Many line printers,
especially the earlier (and slower) ones, utilize a
separate type bar or wheel containing all the characters of the print set at each printing position. An entire line is decoded and each bar or wheel is independently positioned. Then, hammers at each
printing position are actuated simultaneously, forcing the paper into contact with an inked ribbon
pressed against the outlines of the embossed characters. Speeds of the type bar and wheel printers range
from 50 to 150 lines per minute. The IBM 403 and
407 are "classic" examples of the type bar and wheel
printers, respectively.
• Matrix printers-A number of high speed printers
employing matrix-type heads have been designed in
an effort to circumvent the mechanical limitations
on physical character positioning and hammer movement. Each head consists of a group of fine wires
arranged in a' rectangular matrix. Characters are
formed by electromechanically actuating selected individual wires, which strike the inked ribbon against
the paper. Speeds of 500 to 1,000 lines per minute
have been achieved. Experience with matrix printers (notably the IBM 720 and 730 models) has been
characterized by frequent maintenance and service
problems and by printed images of relatively poor
quality. No matrix printers of the impact type are
currently being marketed in the United States.
• "On-the-fiy" printers-High printing speeds are
achieved in "on-the-fiy" printers by rapid hammer
action against continuously moving type elements.
This baSIC principle applies whether the type element is of the solid drum, multiple wheel, or chain
type, and most modern high speed printers fall into
one of these categories. During each print cycle, all
the characters in the print set rotate past each printing position. A fast-action hammer presses the paper
against an inked ribbon and the type slug at the instant the selected char-acter is in position. Currently
available "on-the-fiy" printers can print from 150 to
1,200 alphameric lines per minute, with most units
falling into the 600 to 1,000 line-per-minute range.
Vertical spacing is usually controlled by a punched
tape loop, and skipping speeds range from 14 to 75
inches per second. The number of print positions
range anywhere from 80 to 160, but usually is 120.
A noteworthy recent addition to the "o~-the-fiy" class of
printers is 'the IBM 1403 Model 3, which is a modification
of the horizontal-chain printer used in IBM 1401 computer
systems. The 1403 Model 3 utilizes a train of type slugs
moving through a continuous horizontal channel and is
capable of printing 1,100 alphameric lines per minute.
•
There has been a noticeable trend away from plugboard
control panels among "on-the-fiy" printers, so that all print
editing and format control must be performed by the stored
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

computer program. A one-line buffer usually is used in the
printer or its controller to facilitate printer 'control and
timing.
The possibility of any dramatic improvement in the performance of impact printers in the foreseeable future .is
remote. Most Of the efforts over the past two years have
been in the direction of improving reliability, print registration, and quality. The increased use of optical character
recognition techniques in the future
demand printing
of a consistently high quality, so that document's produced
by line printers can be re~entered into computer systems
by means of optical readers after use by persoI)s outside the
system. '
Non-impact prin~ers capable' of printing 5,000 or more
lines per minute have been developed during the past five
years. These units incorporate a variety· of electrical and
chemical processes to imprint character images on. the
paper. Non-impact printers, however, cannot produce
simultaneous multiple copies; nor can they produce printing of a sufficiently high quality for use in routine business
documents. These are their main disadvantages to date.
The demand for printers that are better able to keep
pace with the data-handling rates of modern computers
probably will result in improvements in the non-impact
printers and a pronounced shift in emphasis from mechanical to non-impact printing techniques.
.
,
Magnetic Character Readers can greatly reduce the need
for manual keystroke operations in the preparation of computer input data. Fundamentally, the difference between
the two techniques is that magnetic ink character recognition (or MICR) requires tha't all characters to be read must
be imprinted with special magnetic ink, whereas optical
techniques can read any printed characters (including those
imprinted with magnetic ink). MICR was developed earlier
and is the more widely used of the two technigues at present. Nevertheless, the greater fiexibility of optical recognition will probably result in a gradl)al shift in'its direction.
MICR has been used, mainly in the banking field. and
received its greatest push forward when the American Bankers Association recommended magnetic ink, in Type Font
E-13B, as the common language for checks. Some COlIlmercial applications; such as the processing of coupons and
other re-entry documents, have also been de,;,eloped" but
:!VIlCR's prime use is still in the area of financ~: l:
.
The greatest proQlems seem to lie in the magl1~tis-ink"
imprinting proce~s, rather than in tl)e recognition process.
Imperfect printing and damaged documents" (mishandled
prior.to MICR processing) cause fairly high rejection rates
and necessitate clerical processing of the rejected material.
MICR re~ding heads produce electrical signals when
magnetically-coated areas are passed beneath t,hem. Wired
recognition circuits analyze the signals and compare them
with stored "truth tables" to determin'e' which recognizable
character-if any-has been sensed. Type Font E-i3B's
uryique appearance resulted from efforts to give each' numeral or special symbol the, maxim um number of featll~es
necessary to distinguisJ;1, (it fro,m all other members pf t4~,
character set. The,'~different" appearance of s.uch numerals
has caused problems in their recognition by human beings.
Most of the MICR reader-sorter units available today are
designed for use on-line with a general-purpose comp~lter
and some can be used off-line, for sorting of magnetically
imprinted documents. Burroughs, Ferranti-P{lckard, General Electric, IBM, and NCR are currently producing units
capable ,of handling from 750 to 1,600 check-sized card
stock or paper documents per minute, with one line: ,,of
Font E-13B magnetic ink imprinting On each document.'
Each unit has a numqer of sorting pockets, ranging froIh
2 to 18, and documents are usually transported to the s~
lected pocket ·by a chute or belt mechanism. Some readers

will

can 'be laaded and unlaaded while in aperatian. Mast
readers check for invalid or unrecognizable characters and
incorrect field lengths. Documents cantaining errors are
usually routed to' a reject packet. Type Font E-13B contains only ten numerical characters and faur special symbals. No MICR reader capable of recognizing alphabetic
characters is available at this time, perhaps because af the
limited demand far such capability.
Optical Character Readers are the newest af the input/
output devices. Alt.hough they are nat yet being used to'
any great degree, they affer many patential benefits. Because aptical character readers permit narmal printed
alphanumeric inputs intO' the machine, they facilitate the
use af turnaround ar re-entry dacuments. They promise
to' reduce the manual keystroke aperatians which are naw
required in the preparatian and verificatian af camputer
input data. These keystrake aperatians currently constitute the largest bO'ttleneck and ma jar trouble spat in mast
electronic data pracessing installatians, because af the incidence af errors in traduced by manual transcriptian.
The basic functian of optical character readers is to' read
infarmatian from printed dacuments, translate each individual character intO' a suitable code, and either transmit
the coded infarmatian directly to' a camputer ar transcribe it anta punched cards, punched tape, ar magnetic
tape. Until 1961, Farringtan Electronics, Inc., was in the
enviable pasitian of being the anly majar producer af
aptical-scanning equipment available to' commercial users.
Since then, hawever, a number af ather companies have
en tered the field.
Several different character scanning methods have been
introduced, but the predaminant technique (and anly ane
that has been used far a lang enaugh time to' establish. a
recard af satisfactary perfarmance) is strake analysis. In
the Farringtan system, the character is scanned and converted to' a pattern af electrical signals which are received
by a special-purpase unit that has a wired recagnitian
program. The device searches far varia us strokes ar bars
af a character and records what it finds. Warking fram a
stared "truth table," the device decides whether ar nat the
particular combinatian of strokes cO'nstitutes a recognizable character; if it daes, the character code is transmitted
to' -the autput device.
Existing aptical character readers are designed to' handle a variety af saurce dacuments, including cash-register tapes, punched cards, and paper dacuments up to' 10
by 14 inches in size_ Document-handling facilities include
autamatic spaoling' devices far film and tape; dacument
happers, which provide autamatic feeding; and multiple
stackers, which permit segregatian of unreadable dacuments. The set af recagnizable characters may consist anly
af the numerals 0 thraugh 9, ar it may include alphabetics
and/ar special symbals. Same readers can read anly ane
line per dacument, while O'thers can read a variable number af lines at variable vertical spacings.
An aptical page reader develaped by Farringtan is capable af reading full typewritten sheets, including upper
and lawer case letters as well as numerals and punctuatian
marks, at ~he rate af 200 characters per second. Advertised
reading speeds af ather existing optical character readers
range fram 72 to' 2,400 characters per secand. Dacumenthandling speeds af the units that read card stack ar paper
dacuments range fram 100 to' 1,200 dacuments per minute_
The effective aperatian af a character-sensing' system
depends upan its ability 'to' cape with variatians in the
quality of.. printing: When canventianal type fants are
used, printing must be af cansistently high quality ar same
characters will be unrecagnizable. The salutian af this
problem seems to' lie in the develapment and widespread
adoptian of an aptimum type fant, whase distinguishing

features can be reliably recagnized even when the print
quality is relatively paar. The Selfcheck fant, develaped
by Farringtan and available with same IB'M printing
equipment, is a step in this directian.
A camputer's input/output cantral facilities may be 10'cated within the central processar, in specialized ar generalpurpose input/autput control units, ar in the input and
output devices themselves. These contral fa <;il i ties may
need to' perform any ar all af the fallQwing functians:
• Cade translatian-Often -the data cade utilized
within the camputer' differs fram. 'that ~sed iii the
input/autput medium. Far example, far punchedcard autput, a six-bit internal code denating a character may have to' be altered to' a pattern af holes
in ane, twa ar three af the 12 punching pasitians in
a card calumn.
• Farmat translatian-Transfer of data in the majarity of input/autput devices (e.g., magnetic tape
transparts), is in parallel-by-bit, serial-by-character
farm, where as a full ward at a time is accepted ar
transmitted by mast care m,emories. The cantral
unit, in these instances, must assemble graups af
characters to' farm full computer wards during input
aperatians and reverse the pracedure during autput
aperatians. This process af assembly and disassembly is usually accomplished in ane of twa ways:
(1) buffered transfers; and (2) ward-at-a-time transfers. In the first method, a buffer register capable
af halding a full block of input ar autput data is
used; this is particularly comman in high-speed
printers. The printer buffer is filled at the camputer's internal transfer rate and holds ane line af
data until the printer, which handles data at a rate
slawer than the camputer, has completed its pr~nt
cycle and is ready far the next line. This frees the
central processar to' campute ar initiate ather input/autput aperatians.
Ward-at-a-time transfers, the second methad used to'
compensate far the speed differences be~ween the
central processar and the input/autput devices, is
mare flexible and is gaining popularity. Here the
transfer af a single ward (ar character) to' ar from
internal starage is initiated whenever the character
becomes available from an input device ar is required by an autput device. Generally, anly ane ar
twa starage cycles (fram 1.5 to' 20 ,micro-second~
far typical care memaries)' are needed far each aneward transfer. Internal processing is interrupted
mare frequently, but far sharter intervals of time,
than when the buffered transfer methad is used. The
central processar is frequently engaged in input/
autput control functians far less than 1% af the
tatal time required far the input/autput aperatians.
• Cantrol af simultaneaus aperatians-In the newer
computers, the large discrepency between data hanling rates af internal starage units and input/autput
devices is used to' permit the simultaneaus aperation
af a number af input/autput devices. Althaugh this
simultaneity increases utilizatian of the computer's
processing capacity, it shauldbe remembered that
full utilizatian af these capabilities usually requires
camplex and time-consuming programming.
Several methads exist to' accomplish simultaneaus
aperatians. The mast frequently used methad permits each input/autput control unit to' handle ane
(ar same times two) input/autput aperatians at a
time; the resulting demands of several cantrollers

{Please turn to page 28}

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

•

THE USED COMPUTER MARKET 1964: A BROKER'S VIEW

George H. Heilborn
Information Processing Systems, Inc.
ATew Yorh, N. Y.

Probably one of the most important aspects of the COlllputer industry in the decade of the 1960's will be the development of a "secondary" market in EDP systems-that
is, the trading and sale of used computer equipment. Just
as the ship and aircraft markets (to say nothing of the
automobile market) depend on the continuing value of
used capital equipment to other organizations, so will the
expansion of the used computer market open up other
sales possibilities for new equipment and provide new opportunities for economical use of EDP equipment to both
new and old users.
It is estimated that the computer market is now supporting sales (including sales value of equipment rented) of at
least one billion dollars a year. Of this amount, about
15%-20% is bought outright, with the rest being leased.
Even most of the leased equipment is eventually purchased by the lessee or another firm. Because of the recen t
growth of computer sales, and the rapid pace of technology
in the field, there has been virtually no development of a
market in used EDP equipment. Gradually, however, major firms are beginning to see the significance of the savings
possible in this area, and it can be expected that there will
soon be an active market in used computers.
Because of the fact that commercial computers are effectively only a decade old, very few of them have so far been
written off as useless by their original owners. Moreover,
from 1953 to 1958, the relatively small number of computers
sold were exclusively vacuum-tube machines. While doing a
good job for the original user, they had serious disadvantages
against a transistorized machine as used equipment. Part~cularly if one considered moving and reinstalling the machine, major costs had to be incurred in dismantling,
providing facilities at the new site, including power and airconditioning, and reinstallation. Last, but not least, maintenance on the older vacuum-tube machines is relatively
expensive, and in certain cases, the original manufacturer is

no longer willing or able to provide such service. These
capital and maintenance costs often were (and are) more
important in considering the installation of a used vacuumtube system than the purchase price of the machine itself.

Economic Life
Now, however, the field is maturing somewhat, both with
respect to used computers and the technology of the machines themselves. The transistorized systems, which were
introduced by all the large manufacturers in 1958-60, are not
only much more economical in installation and maintenance, and (for the same speed and capability) cheaper, but
will also have a much longer economic life than the first
generation of machines. The operational word here, of
course, is economic. Any computer, including the original
large-scale vacuum-tube machines, can probably operate
indefinitely, with proper maintenance and under continuous use conditions. However, it is not economical to operate even a fully-depreciated machine if this means paying
a premium in power consumption, air-conditioning, maintenance, and possibly restriction of productive capacity, over
the rental or purchase-and-maintenance cost of a new machine. For the same reason, the system's value to another
mer is severely limited by the same economic restrictions.
This applies particularly to large-scale vacuum-tube machines, and to a less extent to the smaller and more
popular ones.
. It can be said with a high degree of confidence, however,
that the transistorized machines now being sold will have
a useful and economically productive life well into the late
1960's aI.Id beyond. Very popular models of current medium and small scale computers have sold as many as several
thousand systems, and the newer systems coming onto the
market to reach still other potential customers will doubt-

(Please turn to page 26)
COMPUTERS and AUTOMA nON for July, 1964

THE USED COMPUTER MARKET:
HOW IBM SHAPES IT

Nicholas H. Dosher) Jr.
DA-PEX-Data Processing Eqllipmen.
Exchange Co.
Louisville, Ky.

The used computer market is taking shape as a new
dimension, in keeping with the explosive growth of the
total computer market. Since IBM is the dominant manufacturer with about 75% of the total computer market, and
since most competitive computers are being sold or leased
as new at this time, the focus of this article is principally
on the used market patterns that are forming as a growing
volume of transactions in used IBM equipment take place
especially this year. There are some principal guideline
factors to be considered by those who expect to make transactions in this used equipment market.

The Used Computer Market
To begin with a definition, the used computer market
is a growing market where late-model used computers
and card unit-record peripheral equipment can be bought
or leased at attractive prices lower than new list prices.
Buyers of used computers and punched card equipment are
sometimes hard to find when selling a computer, especially
on short notice. The used computer market is nevertheless
a lusty infant whose growth will be automatic as an increasing number of "technologically obsolete" computers come
into this market following new, late-model deliveries.
The used computer market became possible for practical
purposes, on January 25, 1956, when the U. S. Dept. of
Justice consent decree with IBM took effect. Then users
became able to buy machines as well as rent them; approved firms were licensed to manufacturer cards and control panels; extensive cross-licensing of the IBM basic
patent pool as of that time occurred, and thus made it possible and practical for other manufacturers to make and offer peripheral or the full-scale equipment for compatible
use with IBM machines. Finally, after about three years,
a 30% reduction of "option to buy" prices. took effect.
The used computer market exists now principally because of the IBM consent decree, and also because of the

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

present rapid introduction of the new computer models
such as the IBM System/360 series, the Honeywell 200, and
the new entries from Control Data Corp., General Electric, RCA, Burroughs, and UNIVAC Sperry-Rand.

Buying or Leasing a Computer
There is a long-standing industry debate about the relative merits of buying or leasing computer systems or card
unit-record equipment. There are interesting conclusions
reached in the article, "A Survey on Computer Use by
Large Companies" by Messrs. Bock, Jacobs, and Whitaker,
professors at Northwestern University, Chicago: Ill.,publish~d in the Octo.ber 1963 issue of "Data Processing for
~ranagement." This article was based on a mail survey
including questions about (1) the principal ac~ounting
applications in use on computers and (2) wheth~r the firm
had leased or had purchased computers. The survey was
sent to the 500 Jargest corporations shown in the annual
list of FORTUNE magazine. 370 firms replied (a 74%
response); and 254 or 69% of the respondents had purchased computers-in other words, had voted with hard
cash for buying computers as the best policy for them.,;

Classificati~,n of Used, Computers
The uasic classification of used computers determining
price depends on machine, model, features, and age. These
are rendered specific as follows:
a. Machine Type Number-such -as 1401.
b. Model Number-such as Model 2.
c. Feature Numbers. These are specified by four-digit
numerical code numbers for each feature added to
a. basic machine or computer system.
_':',
d. 1l1achine Serial Number. Each machine, or computer
unit has an individu(\l serial number of five numerical digits, such,as '02173 . .
e. Age Suffix Code. This' is a suffix code to the machine

serial number. It contains two alphanumeric char·
acters. Tohe first character designates the month;
the second character designates the year that the
machine left an IBM factory as either new or fac·
tory re·built. The age as shown by the suffix code
is one of the most important factors to help de·
termine an "option to buy" price from IBM, or a
. sale or purchase price in a transaction for a used
computer. It also determines the monthly IBM
maintenance contract cost.
The ·age suffix coding shown in Table 1 and Table 2 was
obtained from IBM and should be correct for most units
presently in use, subject to some minor exceptions because
of older machines that were coded prior to 1940 with dou·
ble numeric suffixes.
Table 1
FIRST CHARACTER-MONTH CODE
Character
Month
Month
Character
A
January
July
J
B
August
February
K
September
C
March
L
D
October
M
April
E
November
P
May
December
F
S
June
Table 2
SECOND CHARACTER-YEAR CODE
Decade
1960-69
1950-59
Last Digit
1940-49
of Year
(Numeric)
(A lphabetic) (Alphabetic)
A
M
0
0
B
1
1
N
P
D
2
2
3.
E
R
3
4
.4
F
S
5
6

78
9

G
H

K
~

T
W
X
Y
Z

5
6

7
8
9

.1,

Many' configurations of IBM computer systems are in
use and available. Tiine, talk, and paper are all conserved
.if the descdptive numbers outlined here are used to describe a machine or system in a buy or sell transaction. For
example, in 1401's.Card systems can be basically· described
with model numbers Al to A6, to cover 1000 core storage
capacity varying from 1400 positions through 16,000 positio'ns of core storage'. An' expanded 1401 card system ha~,
model 'numbers Bl through B6. Al40l 729 Tape-Card sys
tern carries'model 'numbers Cl through eB. Al40l 729 TapeOriented system has model numbers'DI-D6. AI401 7330
tape oriented system has model numbers DlI-DI6. A1401
7330 Tape(c;ard syste,m~h,!s model numbers El-E6. AI401
Disk Storage/card system llas model numbers F3-F6. AI40J
Disk/card/729 tape system has model numbers FI3-FI6.
Al401 Disk/card/7330 Tape system has model numbers
F23-F26. Many features are available to add flexibility to
a I401 system; for example, the Multiply-Divide feature
has as its feature number 5275. ;

Maintenance of a Used c.omputer
If a company is co~sidering buying a used computer,
one of'the most important questions is maintenance of the
computer. Used market eX,perience has shown that buyers
consider the present and future maintenance of a used
con1ljllter to be ~ vital matter.

By far the overwhelming majority of machine and computer maintenance on user-owned equipment is performed
by the IBM Customer Engineers under monthly maintenance contracts or on a "Time and Materials" basis. In a
few of the large cities at the present time, maintenance service on IBM equipment is also offered by independent
service firms or some of the private leasing companies. A
few owner-users have employed their own full-time qualified
technical maintenance engineers; or large firms have made
arrangements to have a man trained for this duty where a
substantial quantity of equipment is in use in a headquarters or in a multi-office firm. Nevertheless, at this time in
the computer industry, IBM, with its extensive national
coverage in depth from over 200 branch offices, is the yardstick and is practically the sole source for qualified technical maintenance. They excell in experience, excellence,
and geographic coverage.
Monthly maintenance contracts for IBM machines and
systems are apparently available to any owner of a IBM
machine at reasonable and non-discriminatory prices and
terms, except that, in the terms of section VI (b) of the
consent decree, " . . . If any such machine shall be altered,
or connected by mechanical or electrical means to another
machine, in such a manner as to render its maintenance
and repair impractical for IBM personnel having had the
standard training and instruction provided by IBM to such
maintenance and repair personnel, then IBM shall not be
required to render maintenance and repair service for such
IBM machine." The same section goes on to say that IBM
will offer to sell, repair and replacement parts and subassemblies for any tabulating machines or electronic data
processing machines manufactured by IBM so long as IBM
has such parts and subassemblies available for use in its
leased machines. Such monthly maintenance contracts are
offered at standard prices, which increase intervals of at
three years in machine age, as determined by the machine
(or computer system component) unit number modified by
its model number.
Time and materials maintenance service is also available
to machine owners. Prior to November 1963 the basic IBM
charge for this kind of service by an IBM Cus~omer Engineer was at the rate. of $11.25 per hour of time plus parts
cost, together with additional charges for night work, weekends, and for travel outside a reasonable distance from any
IB~I branch office. Since November 1963 the IBM Customer Engineer hourly rate has been $]4.50 plus additional
charges where applicable .
Recent used-market experience seems to indicate that if
a used IBM machine, computer system, or peripheral machine unit moves from a user in a secondary sale, where it
has been under a full IBM monthly maintenance contract
service level, and if it is sold subject to a live monthly
maintenance contract, then a buyer may in most cases acquire that maintenance contract at the standard cost for
the machine number, model number, and age, as shown by
the age code, with nominal charges to prepare the machine
for shipment and for installation at a new location.
In some cases IBM equipment has been maintained under a time and materials arrangement. In such cases, if the
owner requests an IBM Customer Engineer Inspection report just in advance of a used equipmen~ transaction and
if this report can be made available to the used equipment
buyer (together with a firm IBM repair estimate for any
repairs necessary to make it qualify for a future standard
IBM monthly maintenance contract)" then its degree of
operating condition can be better proved to a buyer, and
probably a better relative price secured for it.
A buyer of used equipment will have a greater confidence
in the fU,ture operating condition of a used unit which can
be sold subject to the assumption of a live monthly maintenance contract. Used market experience shows that buyCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

ers prefer a close advance estimate of all the costs necessary
for a used machine or system to be in reasonable operating
condition soon after delivery.
Many older machines, especially some that have been
under time and materials only, may not meet operating
and maintainability tests without substantial repairs; this
condition would then be reflected in the used market price
for that machine. Most machines which have had an
average single shift use and full IBM maintenance contract
service, however, should meet these tests if they are oJ moderate age, as are the majority of equipment in current use.

Used Computer Availability
Date and Lead Time

Very few computer purchase transactions are the result
of snap decisions. Most advance planning for a change in
computers seems to be on the order of one or two years
or longer, modified by the introduction of basic new computer models, their features, delivery dates, prices, and the
lead-time required for machine language programming. An
exception is a situation where additional computer capacity
is required without a basic change in machine language
programming format, such as a second or third computer
system which uses a compatible machine language and is
similar or identical to equipment presently in use.
Used computer market experience seems to indicate that
much better prices and terms, in the fluid context of this
market at the present or near future time, can be arranged
by the owner who makes known, at least to a broker specialist or dealer, his buy or sell requirements in the used market at least 90 to 180 days or more in advance of the estimated transaction time or availability date. Since such
plans might frequently be subject to change, firms who
desire to investigate this new dimension of a used computer
market can do so through a growing number of I)roKer
specialists and dealers, and keep their identity in a confidential status until a transaction is nearly complete, or at
least until a truly interested, well rate.d buyer is brought
forward. This method will frequently bring' buyers and
sellers together with the best possible dispatch because of
the active buy and sell listings maintained by such specialists, their knowledge of this market, well developed market
contacts, and the undiverted thought and energy which is
applied to this specialty portion of the market. Also by
using this method, transaction screening time is reduced
for corporate personnel who usually have full-time primary
management or programming duties and responsibilities
for present computer utilization and results on a tight deadline basis.

Trade-In Values.
Market experience on used computers up to the present
time indicates that the values offered by IBM are almost
always below the sale value of a given unit in the used
market. For example, recent reports from users who were
shopping the market indicate that the trade-in value offered by IB.M for a two-year-old 1401 system might at best
be of the order of 35% of new list price. Experience and
reports from users indicate that such trade-in allowances
are scaled downwards in ra tio to machine age and degree
of technological obsolesence to nothing for machines that
are not in a production status.
In key peripheral equipment, for example, 077 collators
are no longer available from IBM for either rent or purchase and have no trade-in value, but they continue in demand in the used market, and IBM seems willing to maintain and repair them on a contract or time and materials
basis as indicated by the circumstances in each instance.
The other computer manufacturers will undoubtedly
formulate a policy for used equipment and trade-ins when
the problem arises for them. At this time most of them are
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

selling hard for the best share of the new computer market
and these questions won't be much of a factor to them and
their customers until another major new model computer
cycle is completed or well underway.
Advance knowledge. of the city or even the ~ta~e location
of a unit offered for sale is of value for an estimate of the
freight which is usually paid by the buyer.

Protection for Possible D'amage in Transit
Every computer shipped should carry additional insurance coverage equal to the purch.ase price value.
It was remarked above that it was important to sell a
used unit or system subject to either a live maintenance
contract or an IBM CE inspection report made a short time
before the sale. Having a live maintenance contract or
this kind of inspection report with advance repair estimate
can provide a valuable yardstick for repair or replacement
valuations and a method of fixing responsibility for the
degree of any damage suffered in transit if this question
should arise.
....

Price,S and Technological Obsolescence
IBM has firm prices with discounts only for a few customers like the Federal Government agencies and univers{ties. While all these prices are subject to chinge without
notice, as a practical matter the major change in recent
years took place on November 1, 1963, and was a change in
the "option to buy" price formula under 'wl::1ich a depreciatedprice was calculated when
user' desired' to buy
equipment which had been on rental. Froin January 25,
1956, the date of the consent decree, until November 1,
1963, IB~I equipment could be purchased by a rental user
after a minimum one year rental contract on a basis of
10% off the list price for each full year of ma'chine age
down to a minimum price of 25% of the new list price' at
about 7 years of machine age.
On November 1, 1963, this was modified. Current "Option to Buy" prices for users from a rental status are 'calculated at 10% off list per full year of age: for punched
card unit record machines down to the following minimums: for newly manufactured machines' 45%, for factory
re-conditioned machines 35%, and for machin~s not in production 25%.
A more significant change was made for "Systems" eq'Uipment which includes all transistorized computers, their
component units, and alllate-model'equipmerrt above the
punched-card unit-record design. level. For 1401's, for example, the "option to buy" prices are now computed at 5%
off list for each full year of age for the first fO,ur years, and
10% off list per year beyond four years of age down to minimums of 65% for newly manufactured equipment,.55% for
factory re-built equipment, and 45% for units which are no
longer in production.
Since the principal original source for computers or
punched card equipment for the used market is from users
where "Technological Obsolesence" has taken place with
the introduction of later model equipment, the prices and
terms quoted by IBM to users who exercise "Options to
Buy" their rental equipment have a large influence on
used market prices together with the term~ under which
IBM will allow a secondary used customer to assume a live
maintenance contract with nominal "installation charges
and without major repairs to qualify for a future maintenance contract at the standard IBM monthly rates for
machine age.
Used computer price levels are and wiII be in a state of
flux until the dust settles from the recent IBM Systemj360
series announcement. During this state of' flux only an
educated guess is possible. For near-term delivery for used
IBM 1400 series and 7000 series computers owners arc ask-

ing prices tha t reflect about 10% discount per year of age.
I n old-fashioned "horse trading" style, buyers start with
lower offers until a meeting of the minds is reached. Transactions are being closed; contingent on some special factors
in certain cases, it seems reasonable to say that for a 2-yearold system a price in the area of 70% to 80% is about average currently. This price level will probably move lower
as the 360 announcement dust settles, and as new model
computer orders are placed in greater volume, and the used
market price patterns become more clearly defined.
Technological obsolesence, and its effect on used market
prkes for some older computers, is best illustrated by some
typical _price levels for the old 'lBIM 700 series (vacuumtube computers) and 650 series equipment. These are being offered at prices in the area, of 10% or less of new lis t,
with a few takers. Some of the very early vacuum-tube
type computers have changed hands for use as spare parts
at really low prices, like 1% or 2% of list.

Machine La n,gu,age, Compatibility,
-and Machine Langua'ge Tra,ns·lators
According to rhe well-informed EDP Industry and Market Report, published semi-monthly at Newtonville, Mass.,
the recently announced IBM System/360 series will use a
new ASC II' character code and a programming command
structure which are not directly compatible with currrent
IBM computers' mode of 0peration. Thus, although the
new Systeql/360 has many admirable features s~ch as increased 'speed, memory capacity, compact size, and,modular
ftexib'ility, th'is program incompatibility with current IBM
computers as well as the matter of approximately two years
delivery h!ad ti~e should be considered carefully in judging the advantages of a used computer purchase. According to' this source, IBM is offering a "1401 Emulator" or
computer simulator only for the smaller size model 30 and
40 computers in the 360 series. This allows these processors
to accept apresent 1401 program and interpret it in 360System processing steps through the use of a special readonly storage unit.. It is reported, however, that processing
efficiercy in models for which this emulator is available is

THE USED COMPUTER MARKET ~
1964: A BROKER'S VIEW
(Continued from page 22)

"less mean a continuing rapid expansion of the EDP market
for the next several years.

Purchase vs,. Rental"
However, as the market for EDP equipment stabilizes, it
becomes clear that it is more and more economical to purchase equipment rather than lease it, especially where a
multiple-shift operation is anticipated. Companies which
want to get the financial benefits of leasing more and more
tend to do so through,a leasing company, which buys the
equipment from the manufacturer, thus permitting multiple-shift operation' for a known and predetermined
monthly rental, rather than pay the manufacturer's extrashift rental. Ownership of the machine may in some cases
go to the renting company at the end of the lease, or the
lessee may continue to lease the system at a small monthly
rental at the end of the original lease term.
Even used ~equipment can, of course, be rented through
the agency of a bank or leasing company. For corporations

cut in half when handling 1401 programs in this manner.
The recent EDP Industry and Market Report further says
that "The rapid appearance of computers with 1401 program translators and 1401 simulators such as the H-200,
GE-415, and B-200 series and the impending entry into the
1401 replacement market by UNIVAC and RCA with special equipment and programming aids during 1964 is causing many 140 I users to consider carefully the relative advantages of conver~,ing currently to a competitive system
rather than waiting 18 to 20 months QJ; longer for a System/
360 which might be behind the state of the art when ready
for delivery." Among the computers being ordered by
users surveyed by the EDP Industry and Market Report
editors soon after the IBM System/360 announcement were
the UNIVAC 1050, the H-200, the Control Data 3200 and
the GE-415.
In the present circumstances, used IBM 1400 and 700
series computers that are "technologically obsolete" for
one user still represent a very "advanced state of the art"
to many other users at the prices for which this equipment
is and will be available now and in future months and
years.
1964 is indeed a turning point in the development of
the American computer industry, including the emergence
of a used computer market. Thf' market is an entirely different, more competitive market than in the years prior to
1956; a wider range of choice is now available to computer
users than ever before, in greater depth-sizes, configurations, prices, and features offered. An active market for
used computers is being increased by a growing number of
broker specialists, associate brokers, dealers, and private
leasing companies, and a growing number of customers,
among present users for additional equipment capacity
and among new users, many of whom can now justify computer equipment for the first time at the lower purchase
prices available in the used market.
Responsible men and women who make the computer
and data processing buying decisions, or who have the responsibility to secure the best sale price for used excess
equipment, should try to stay informed about developments
in the used business equipment market so as to serve the
best interests of the firms they represent.

with established credit, this is a sound and relatively economical way to obtain the benefits of both rental and purchase of used equipment.
The Federal Government has recognized the advantages
of buying rather than leasing EDP equipment, and most
Federal agencies are now undertaking a review of their
existing and proposed leases and purchases to assure that
the Government makes the most economical possible lease /
buy decision.'*' It is estimated that the percentage of purchased machines in the Federal Government will double,
from 15% ,to about 30%, in the next fiscal year alone.
Many companies, however, have been deterred from purchasing equipment when they take a. good look at the payout calculations. For one thing, it has generally been
necessary to assume that the machine would be valueless
at the end of the 5-6 year depreciation period usuany
used. The primary reason for this is tha t there has been
no market mechanism for disposing of used equipment, and
hence. no measure of value. Secondly, the trade-in sched'" See "Hearings
ernment Statistics
Service, House of
13, 24, 1963, July
Office.)

before the Subcommittee on Census and Govof the Committee on Post Office and Civil
Representatives," Oct. 2, 3, 5, 1962, June 11,
9, 15, 1963. (Available from Govt. Printing

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

ules of the manufacturers suggest that the equipment's real
value decreases very rapidly. This has strongly encouraged
users to rent, and relieved the manufacturers of much of
the responsibility of selling used systems. (A used rental
system, when returned to the manufacturer, can be rerented at the same price, assuming the machine is still in
production.)
At the same time, the manufacturers, paJ1ticuiarly IBM,
have set relatively high prices on the used equipment which
is offered, as long as that type of system is still in production. Again, this discourages the major computer user from
the purchase of equipment.

The E.quipment Broker
As a result, a new approa'ch must be recognized in the
EDP systems market-that of the equipment broker.
He is basically the market's mechanism for evaluatin,g the
marketability and price of used equi'pment. The function
of a broker, of course, is to know~he market value of computers, who is selling, how to sell the equipment, and who
might be willing to buy a paTticular system. Being familiar
with a variety of users, and not committed to any particular
line of systems, he can frequently be ·the source of sound
and unbiased advice on the economics and possibilities of
buying and selling computer systems.
On the one hand, there is now a method for a computer
owner to determine the residual value of his equipment,
and thus allow intelligent planning and lease/buy decisions. He also has available a market meohanism for disposing of used equipment. On the other hand, the buyer
is provided with a means of obtaining additional computer
capacity at a greatly reduced cost. This may occur through
the supplementing of his existing installation by adding
peripheral equipment, or an additional identical system, or
by replacement of his existing system by a larger, and conceivably, newer, computer. A particularly important potential buyer of used ED.P equipment is the large institution which utilizes a number of computers now, wishes to
enlarge its capacity, and is willing .to consider a used system. Often, such an organization will have. the trained
operators and finished programs which allow it to make use
of the additional system immediately, without the "handholding" necessary in the case of a user new to EDP systems.
us~d

Another advantage which might be noted in the purchase of used equipment is that, very often, a large number
of programs, both manufacturer- and user-developed, are
available by that time, often simplifying the task of putting
the machine to work profitably in a short period.
It should not be thought that the development of the
used computer market in this fashion is to the complete
disadvantage of the computer manufacturers. Insofar as it
permits the cunent owner to purchase a brand-new machine, which he might not have done given only the manufacturer's standard trade-in on his existing equipment, it
helps sell more modern equi'pment, even though existing
equipment is as little as two years old. In addition, the
existence of a used computer market is to the advantage of
a user GOnsidering changing manufacturers, where he ordinarily could expect no trade-in on his current installation.
It also broadens the number of users of EDP equipment,
some of whom cannot afford new systems. In this way, potential 'customers for new equipment, a few years later, are
created.

Prices
Prices on the open market for used equipment are determined by a number of considerations. Among these

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

are, obviously: the manufacturer's trade-in schedule; the
price for which he is willing to sell used equipment; the
costs of installation and maintenance for that particular
system; and its age. Less obvious considerations include:
whether the equipment is still in production or not; the
exact equipment configuration (a system for a certain
purpose, with an unusual equipment configuration and
set of options, is obviously more difficult to sell, and of
less value on the open market, than a more, conventional
and widely useable configuration); and the capabilities of
newer equipment in the same speed and price range. It
is not true, as some computer owners believe, that "the age
of my system doesn't matter-it does just as much work as
it ever did." First, the age matters because of the relationship to trade-in value. In addition, no matter' how well
the machine still works, if a new one of the s~me speed
and capacity" can be bought for half the price, the old one's
value is diminished ,to at least the same extent:. In fact,
in the small-scale market, fairly versatile computers are
now available for as little as $20,000 to $25,000 (new), and
somewhat higher if punched card input-output ~quipment
is desirecl
An excellent illustration of these principle~, together
with typical calculations, may be found in the article "The
Case For Buying A Used Computer," Computers and Automation, Nov., 1962 p. 41. It should be pointed out that the
time periods 'used for payout and depreciation may be
greater or less than those used in the above article, depending on the type of system used.
In that al'ticle, three disadvantages of purchasing used
computers are given:
1. reduction of contact with the computer profession;
2. loss of technical prestige;
3. loss of ability to do a few "frontier" prob~ems.
These particular items, of course, tend ,to be of more importance in the technical and seien tific computation area,
than in the field of business data processing. Thjis is especially true if the used machine is an additional machine
in a complex data processing installation, which more often
than not tends to ,be the case.
There are, of course, other disadvantages from the point
of view of the buyer of data processing equipment. If he
is purGhasing a used installation, he, must basically take
what is available-he does not have the complet~ freedom
of choice that he would have ordering new equipment
from the manufacturer. He. can, naturally, mitigate this
to some extent by trading in some of the equipment he
has purchased to the manufacturer, and orrler'ing additional new or used equipment from him. The necessity for
doing this, however, shows up in the price the buyer is
~illing to pay the current owner for the equipm~nt. Also,
while main frame processors will probably not 'change a
great deal in the near future, the rate of development of
peripheral equipment is still not stable. Another point is
that the maintenance cost for peripheral equipmept is more
age-dependent than that for the all-electronic items of
equipment.

Savings
The point, of course, in buying used EDP eq~ipment is
savings. There are clearly financial benefits possible in
the use of modern EDP equipment which is two or three
years old. Considering the capital investment required for
a medium- or small-scale data processing system, the saving
of even· a fraction of the price of new equipment may mean
a difference in capital outlay of one to several hunderd
thousand dollars. Savings, of this order of magnitude clearly
call for serious management attention to the benefits to
be obtained by the purchase of used EDP equipment.

A SURVEY OF
INPUTjOUTPUT EQUIPMENT

DRAMATIC INPUT DEVELOPMENT

(Continued from page 20)
for access to the computer's internal memory arc
interwoven by the input/output control circuitry or
program. The peripheral units with the highest
data handling rates are usually granted top priority,
while the central processor is allowed access to the
internal store only when no input/output unit demands access.
As a rule, each control unit is permanently connected to one or more input/output units, but
greater flexibility is provided by some computer systems. Examples of 'this flexibility can be found in
the new RCA 330 I and Honeywell 200 systems, in
which any input/output channel can handle any
one peripheral operation. Some small-s'cale computer
systems offer a fair range 'of simultaneity by providing individual buffers for a card reader, card punch,
and/ or printer. Others afford little or no simultaneity.

Conclusion
During the next few years much of the progress in computer-hardware development will be centered on improving
the speed and reliability of peripheral equipment. Not
only
there be a larger variety of input/output devices,
hut they' will be less expensive, more versatile, and will
make possible increased utilization of the computer capahilities we already possess. Refinements are regularly being
made on present input/output equipment, and the socalled exotic devices are rapidly increasing in practicality
and effectiveness.

will

"It'll be an epic - it's going to be a multi-million
dollar production! I want you to match merge
Shakespeare, Beethoven and Michelangelo!'i

the FIRST comprehensive report on the
newest professional ~ the Programmer
A
PROFILE
OF

THE

PROGRAMME~

!:~-.-:..;~~!::i:
.....:~!~~.:~!:~::~

DEUTSCH

A STUDY BY
& SHEA. INC.
MANPOWER
NS
COMMUNICA110
CONSUL1AN1S

A revealing, fact-packed study based on the reactions of
549 programmers. Their experiences in business and industry are discussed, as well as effective ways of hiring,
managing, utilizing and motivating computer programmers.

Specifically designed to answer important questions such as:
how programmers enter the field; how they feel about their
careers and the jobs they now hold; why they change jobs; what
cluster of job attractions make them choose a new job; how they
visualize their career progression; what aspects of their worksituation need improvement; what are their special skills, personality traits and career motivations; what incentives are meaningful to them; what are the four major problem areas ahead in
computer programming and how to tackle them; what can be
done to increase the future supply of programming talent.
The study provides many valuable insights into the attitudes and
aspirations of programmers and enables management and supervisors to form a better understanding of them as individuals and
as employees.

r--------------..,
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Book Department/Computers and Automation
815 Washington Street, Newtonville 60, Massachusetts

Please send me _ _ copies of A PROFILE OF THE
PROGRAMMER at $7.50 per copy postpaid.
SPECIAL (2 or more copies, $5.00 ea.) .
name
tit Ie' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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Payment enclosed.

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COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

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COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

Rep~:

Soundcraft Magnetic ltd.

CUMULATIVE SAVINGS
Nationwide Leasing Co. ComputerLease - 8 Year Term
vs
Manufacturer's Rental - 8 Years

THE ECONOMICS

$308,068 Computer
Basic Rent Per Year
Exclusive of Ma i ntena nce~"
Manufacturer's rental**
b) Nationwide Leasing Co.

Year

1 Shift

$ 69,672
48,910

$ 83,604
48,910

Shifts

OF LEASE

2 Shifts

vs.

$ 97,536
48,910

Cumulative Savings:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Additional Investment
Tax Credit
Real Dollar Savings
through ComputerLease***

$ 20,762
41,524
62,286
83,048
103,810
124,572
145,334
166,096

$ 34,694
69,388
104,082
138,776
173,470
208,164
242,858
277,552

$ 48,626
97,252
145,878
194,504
243,130
291,756
340,382
389,008

14 1 374

$180,470

$291,926

$403,282

RENTAL

OF COMPUTERS

Maintenance cost would be the same under either program since equipment is purchased from manufacturer. Hence maintenance cost has been
omitted from both rentals.

Robert Sheridan) President
Nationwide Leasing Company
Chicago 4) Ill.

As supplied by manufacturer.
Additional cost of Insurance and Personal Property Tax not taken
into consideration since accurate determination impossible without
specific data on Insurance and Tax Rates.

The growth of the used computer market depends
on how many people purchase their own computers;
and the leasing arrangements of the independent leas-.
ing companies make this possible with small capital
outlays at anyone time.
Will you continue to rent your EDP equipment?
The majority of EDP systems are being rented from
manufacturers today. There is, however, a clearly discernible trend to acquiring computers through leases with
third party lessors. In scattered instances computers are
also being purchased outright in managements' desire to
reduce the cost of computer use.
Technical obsolescence has been the compelling power
behind the predominance of manufacturer rental plans.
The cycle of technical obsolescence, lengthening rapidly in
the past few years, was further extended with the recent
announcement by the last of the majors that its "third
g-encration" models were available. This new plateau of
lechnology should enable computer users to plan on a
significantly longer useful life. In addition, the growing use
of the 'I\milding block" technique, which preserves past
programming, further slows the cycle of obsolescence.

Will this trend grow with increasingly greater speed or
will there be a return to rentals?

Decline in Rentals
All indications point to a rapid decline in the popularity
of rentals. Computer rentals grew primarily because of the
low level of reliability in the early days of the art and because of the rapid rate of development of improved models.
Hence the promise of drastic reductions in time and cost
of accounting and research functions was not adequate to
overcome the fear of being "locked in." The 30-day cancellation privilege offered by the manufacturers became the
ideal solution in this conflict of motives.

Pattern in Development of New Equipment
Computers are proving to be no exception to the general pattern of the development of new equipment; after
the initial period of experimentation and rapid improvements, replacement cycles slow down and the pendulum
begins to swing in the opposite direction, that of retaining
obsolete equipment in service too long.
Today's computers are reliable, flexible, adaptable to
many diverse tasks and hold promise of extended useful
life. This condition calls for a new approach to paying for
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

J
l

Dollars
in Thousands
Computer Cost $308, 068. 00

450
Computer Lease
Savings
2 Shift

400

Points A, Band C show the time at

350

which savings in rental equal cost
for

substitution

depending

amount of computer use.

300

1-1/2 Shift

Points
Unamortized
Principal

A 1, Bland C1 show the much
earlier break-even point of Compu-

250

ter Lease when trade-in values are
considered. Identification of manufacturer

and

systems

has

been

200
1 Shift

omitted.
150

100

Unamortized Principal
Less Estimated Trade In
Value

Years

COlli pu ter

usage, an approach which provides (1) lower annual cost, (2) lower total cost, (3) a flexible replacement
opportunity, recognizing the possibility of interim technical
advancements, and (4) unlimited usage within the base cost.
Current tax laws, in addition, dictate the need to provide
the full benefit of the 7% investment tax credit.
This was the reasoning that underlay the development of
a variety of leasing arrangements by specialized leasing
cOlllpanies.

An Illustration
AI\ illustration of a specific situation my firm was involved in recently shows the considerable cash savings possihle once the above principles are applied. In this situatioll, we were asked to submit a proposal for a system with
a total cost qf $308,068 (including taxes). For purposes of
direct comparison of the cost of usage, maintenance and
service charges, which would be identical under both plans,
have heen deleted from all cost cited.
The manufacturer's annual rental for one shift use (176
hours per month) -was $69,672. Nationwide's rental, on the
other hand, was $48,910, based on an eight-year lease. This
is a cash difference of $20,762 per year. In addition, our
leasing plan passed on the full 7% investment tax credit to
the lessee, whereas the manufacturer passed on only 2V3%
(since the rental plan is based on a five-year useful life to
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

the rnanufactu1;'er). This means a further cash difference
Df·$14,374. Thus in the very first year, the lessee received
an immediate cash savings of $35,136, over 10% of the
cost of the equipment.
In the first five years of the plan-the critical periodcumulative savings amount to $118,274, composed of annual rental savings, plus investment tax credit. If the
lease is maintained for the full eight years, cumulative dollar savings based on one-shift use come to $180,470.
The decisive importance of unlimited use is illustrated
if a two-shift use of the equipment is assumed. Our particular leasing arrangement charges a single hxed rental no
matter how much the equipment is used. Thus for twoshift use, the same rental cited above-$48,910 per yearapplies. Under the manufacturer's schedule, however, twoshift use means a higher rental-$97,536 per year. This
means a saving of $48,626 per year. For five years the
savings on rentals amounts to $243,130, for eight years the
total is $389,008, or more than the original cost of the
equipment. To this must be added the difference in investment' tax credit of $14,374.
These (potential) savings are so large as to be quite impressive to management.
If they are true, why isn't everyone jumping on the
bandwagon? What's the catch?

Dividing Line
There is nO' catch, but there is a dividing line. In aur
case the dividing line is five years. The savings accrue to
thase companies that can foresee a useful life of five years
or longer on a one-shift operation. Far a ane-and-a-half
shift aperation, the dividing line is 48 months. Far two
shifts, the dividing line is 40 months. These periads will
vary slight!y depending an the makeup of the system.
In other wards, these extremely large savings are the
reward 'that falls to' managers whO' accurately faresee that
their use af camputers will expand and that the equipment
they acquire in 1964 ar later will, in fact, have a useful life
(in terms af patential applicatians) that is langer than five
years.
Hawever, this daes nat mean that the company that
leases is "lacked in" far the full term af the lease. Mast
leasing arrangements cantain a standard "right af substitutian" clause, which permits a lessee to' replace absalete
equipment with up-ta-date equipment. Under this clause,
the lessee may at his aptian buy aut his equipment fram

the lease withaut penalty. He may then, af caurse, trade
in the aId equipment against new machines with his new
lease based an the net price af the new equipment.

Maximum Savings
Once the dec is ian is made to' gO' far maximum savings,
the questian that is pased is the classic ane that pertains
to' all types af equipment: shall we buy ar lease? TO' this
questian there is the simple answer:
1. If yau have the funds available and nO' better (i.e.,
mare prafitable) use far these funds, then buy. If yaur
funds can earn mare emplayed in yaur business than a lease
casts, ar in purchase af equipment with a faster return af
investment than eight years, then lease.
2. If yau must canserve yaur warking capital and the
equipment is a saund investment, then lease.
3. If barrowing fram yaur narmal saurces in arder to'
purchase equipment will restrict yaur aperatians ar yaur
credit lines in any way, leasing will keep yaur narmal
credit lines apen withaut restrictian an management.

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS
July 13-15, 1964: 1964 Rochester Conference on Data Acquisition and Processing in Medicine and Biology, Univ.
of Rochester, Whipple Auditorium, Rochester, N. Y.;
contact Kurt Enslein, 42 East Ave., Rochester, N. Y.
14604
July 20-21, 1964: 2nd Annual Canference af the Camputer
Persannel Research Group, New Yark University, New
Yark, N. Y.; cantact Rabert A. Dickmann, Chairman,
Camputer Persannel Res. Group, c/O' Jahns Hapkins
Univ. Applied Physics Labaratary, 8621 Geargia Ave.,
Silver Spring, Md.
July 20-24, 1964: 1964 Nuclear Radiatian Effects Canference, Univ. of Washingtan, Seattle, Wash.; cantact Jahn
C. Mitchell, Unit 2-53010, LTV-Vaught Aeronautics
Div., Ling-Temco-Vaught, Inc., P. O. Bax 5907, Dallas,
Tex. 75222
i\.ug. 12-14, 1964: 1964 UAIDE (Users of Automatic Information Display Equipment) Meeting, International
Hotel, Sepulveda and Century Blvds., Los Angles, Calif.;
contact M. Hoffman, Program Chairman, 1964 UAIDE
Annual Meeting, Dept. 716-61, Atomics International,
P. O. Box 309, Canoga Park, Calif.
Aug. 25-27, 1964: ACM Annual Meeting, Sheraton Hotel,
Philadelphia, Pa.; contact H. Bromberg, Conference
Chairman, C-E-I-R, Inc., Benson East, Jenkintown, Pa.
Aug. 25-28, 1964: 1964 Western Electronic Show and Convention (WESCON) and IEEE Summer General Meeting, Los Angeles Sports Arena and Hollywood Park, Los
Angeles, Calif.; contact WESCON, 3600 Wilshire Blvd.,
Los Angeles, Calif.
Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 1964: Sympasium an Sensitivity Analysis
af Nanlinear Systems, Oubrovnik, Yugaslavia; contact
Jahn E. Gibsan, EE Dept., Purdue Univ., Lafayette, Ind.
Sept. 9-11, 1964: 12th Engineering Management Conference, Pick-Carter Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio; contact
Norman Lieblich, Dynatrol, Inc., 95 Liberty St., New
York, N. Y. 10006
Sept. 14-16, 1964: 8th National Convention on Military
32

Electronics (MILECON ) , Washington -Hilton
Washington, D. C.

Hotel,

Sept. 14-18, 1964: 4th Internatianal Canference af Analag
Camputing, Callege af Technalagy, Brightan, England;
contact The BCS/AICA Hanorary Secretariat, Ferranti
Ltd., Kern Hause, 36 Kingsway, Landan, W. C. 2, Eng·
land
Sept. 14-19, 1964: Sympasium an Campanent Parameters
and Characteristics, Stackhalm, Sweden; contact Praf.
Herman R. Weed, EE Dept., OhiO' State Univ., Calumbus 10, OhiO'
Sept. 17-18, 1964: 7th Annual Northwest Camputing Canference, Univ. af Washingtan, Seattle, Wash.; contact
Robert K. Smith, Narthwest Camputing Assaciatian, Box
836, Seahurst, Wash.
Sept. 21-24, 1964: Sympasium an Digital Process Cantral,
Stackhalm, Sweden; cantact W. E. Miller, G.E. Ca., One
River Rd., Schenectady 5, N. Y.
Sept. 21-24, 1964: 1964 IFAC/IFIP Canference, Internatianal Canference an Applicatian af Digital Camputers
far Process Cantrol, Stackhalm, Sweden; contact IFAC/
IFIP Canference 1964, Swedish Canference Office, Box
320, Stackhalm 1, Sweden
Sept. 23-25, 1964: 1st International Congress on Inst. in
Aerospace Simul. Facilities, Paris, France
Oct. 4-9, 1964: National Symposium on Space Electronics,
Dunes Hotel, Las Vegas, Nev.; contact Charles H. Doersam, Jr., Grumman Aircraft, Eng. Corp., Elec. Bldg. #5,
Bethpage, N. Y.
Oct. 5-7, 1964: 10th National Communications Symposium,
Utica, N. Y.
Oct. 6-13, 1964: Sympasium an Hazard and Race Phenamena in Switching Circuits, Bucharest, Raumania;
cantact Prof. E. J. McCluskey, Jr., EE Dept., Princeton
Univ., Princetan, N. J.
Uct. 19-21, 1964: National Electronics Conference, McCarmick Pl., Chicago, Ill.; contact National Elec. Conf.,
228 No. LaSalle St~, Chicago, Ill.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1961

PERFORMANCE 5T ANDARD5

Dick H. Brandon
Brandon Applied Systems Inc.
New York, N.Y.
and

Frederick Kirch
The Diebold Group Inc.
New York, N.Y.

Performance standards are yardsticks with which to measure operating performance. They provide management
with control, and allow variations to be investigated and
rapid action to be taken whenever performance strays from
the expected yardsticks.
A (l1~llnctiorl Ulust be drawn between an estimate and
a standard. An estimate for example, attempts to predict
aclll(// machine running time. A standard states what that
time should be. An estimate may be adjusted for later use
when the actual performance is known. A standard theoretically is not adjusted. Therefore, a major difference between the actual and the standard will result in management investigation and action.
I n data processing, much as in any manufacturing process, standards may be established for both equipment and
personnel performance. The methodology is somewhat
different. The equipment is self-controlled, and a variation
from the ::;tandard therefore does not indicate lower "equipment efficiency." It may however, indicate weaknesses in
the program or a lack of operator effectiveness. Similarly,
it is difficult to use time study techniques to establish standanls for programming; the speed of creativity is difficult
to predict.
It is necessary though to develop quantitative measures
that can be applied to data processing functions. Cost accounting recommends three methods with which standards
Illay he established. These, in order of preference, are:
• Time and motion study
• Study of past performance records
• Estimates based upon experience and judgment
The normal concept of standard costs is applicable to
regular production processes but not to "job shops" or
othn variable processes. The data processing operation is
thus left without acceptable standard costs.
A fourth method of establishing standards exists, using
estilllates which vary based upon parameters for specific
operations. Thus, machine processing time varies with the
parameter of volume, program coding varies largely with
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

program size, and block diagramming varies with program
size and logic complexity.
The major advantages of establishing accurate performance standards ,are that they:
• Allow reasona:ble accuracy in scheduling equipment
and resources
• Supply management with basic cost information
• Aid in controlling costs
• Facilitate budgeting
• Allow personnel performance evaluation
Basic rules are required to provide the correct environment for establishing and using performance standards:
1. Methods must be standardized.
2. The standards program must have the understand·
ing and cooperation of the data processing staff.
3. Rules to control quality must be established and
enforced along with measures of quantity. (Otherwise, a tendency may develop for slower workers to
increase output by reducing quality. It would be
possible, for example, to turn a program over for
production· without thorough testing of all conditions. This would reduce the total time necessary
to develop the program but would be at the expense of an increased number of errors in production.)
4. Accurate records of performance must be kept.

General Approach
Control depends largely on the feedback of information.
The initial development of standards depends on the accumulation of historical information. The control cycle
develops as follows:
• Development of the initial standard. On the basis of
estimates, judgment, experience, or a quantitative
measure based on evaluation of operating parameters, initial standards are developed.
• Schedule development. A schedule is established on
the basis on initial standards.

• Gatherillg illformation. Detailed records are maintained on actual performance . .-\nalyses are made of
performance ;lgainst projected schedules. Variations
are then determined and possible causes established.
• Action is taken to account for each variation initially
encountered. If a variation occurs without apparent
explanation, the standard may be wrong and would
then need adjustment. Otherwise action is taken to
adjust performance, such as increasing incentives, or
modifying methods, or increasing the amount of supervision.
A standard should not be adjusted because of adverse experience based on one operating group or on a single
sample. .-\ standard should be adjusted only on the basis
of verified consistent variations.

Program, Parameters
Experience indicates that the most meaningful parameter
that can be applied almost universally to compute compiler
time, for example, is program size. This assumes that the
average number of macros, pseudo-operations, comments,
or compiler-control entries will be reasonably constant for
an installation. The number of comments will be dictated
by the rules on program organization and the number of
macro-instructions will be a direct function of standard subroutines and of programming rules dictating the particular
macros to be used.
The unit in which the parameter is expressed is of little
significance: it matters but little if it is in number of cards
or inches of symbolic deck. However, since the parameters
of a program must be estimated before the program is actually written, it is important that the unit chosen permit
accurate measurement. The unit that lends itself most
easily to such estimation is the number of pages of 'coding
anticipated, generally divided by ten to facilitate handling.
The following scale for example, is suggested:
Number of
Scale
Pages
Unit
01 - 19
1
20 - 29
2
30 - 39
3
40 - 49
4
50 - 59
5
60 - 69
6
70 - 79
7
80 - 89
8
90 - 99
9
The first program parameter is therefore estimated program size, determined before the program is actually
written.
The second program parameter is complexity-a subjective value which can be estimated in advance by an experienced programmer. The code for complexity uses a
scale of six possible complexities ranging from simple to
impossible:
A .......................................... Simple
B .................. Moderately Difficult
C .................... Difficult (Average)
D .......................... Quite Complex
E .................... Extremely Difficult
F ................................... .Impossible
In establishing a complexity code for programs to be
written, two factors should be clearly kept in mind:
1. There is no direct relation between complexity and
size; size must be separately estimated. Logical complexity is strictly a function of the type of program
and the number of different conditions accounted
for. Of course, a truly compl~x program would
usually require a sizable number of instructions to
handle all conditions. There are, however, a num-

ber of extremely complex programs such as tightly
optimized subroutines, whose size is I, yet whose
complexity is D or E. Conversely, an extremely
simple printer routine on a non-alphabetic machine may be quite lengthy because of editing requirements.
2. The same person should establish program complexity in all cases.
.-\. third parameter affecting developrhent and operating
time is the number of input-output 'twits used. An extremely large and complex progr<,lm may use one tape for
input and one for output; the set-up tim.~ for thIS program
will be considerably less than for a simple, small program
which uses the printer, six or seven tapes, and an on-line
card reader. This parameter is called input-output complexity, and is a simple count of the number of inputoutput units used. It can be obtained by a rapid analysis
of the program flowchart.
Each program will therefore have three parameters, expressed as X N IY:
X is the rating of complexity (A through F)
N is the number of pages of coding, divided by ten
Y is the number of input-output units
These three parameters can be used to quantify almost
everyone of the values required for a program.

Development of Equipment Standards
For determining rental charges some kinds of computer
use are chargeable and others are not. The chargeable
uses are generally:
• Production time
• ,Assembly or compile time
• Testing time
• Rerun time: Operator error
• Rerun time: Program error
• Rerun time: Data error
• Demonstrations
• Training
Non-chargeable time falls into these categories:
• Production set-up
• Assembly set-up
• Testing set-up
• Scheduled maintenance
• Unscheduled maintenance
• Rerun time: Machine failure
• Rerun: Manufacturer's software error
• Idle time
Although most installations assume that there is no cost
attached to the "non-chargeable time," this is a fallacy.
One cost attached to non-chargeable time is the cost of
labor for computer operations. A second cost is the overhead of the extra operation, which may be considerable if
the extra operation forces overtime or addition of another
shift. Ultimately, computer use will exceed total available
time. Whether or not the machine is purchased or the
manufacturer charges for set-up time, when the total of
chargeable and non-cii.argeable time exceeds twenty-four
hours in a day, the added cost incurred will be that of a
second complete computer.
Standards for Productive Time in a Business Application
In a business application, productive (machine operating) time varies directly with known and measurable
parameters. In a tape-limited system, productive time is
directly related to tape passing time, which in itself depends on tape blocking and record length. For any given
application, these factors are known in advance and may
be calculated, so that day-ta-day volume, or number of records are the only variables.
With manufacturer-supplied programs, such as sorts, a
general timing formula is usually made available. 1\1 ajor
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 196-1

variables whkh affect the calculation are file volumes, record length, and blocking factors. Calculation of standard
time is then fairly simple arithmetic, once parameters are
known.

Development of a Schedule
On the basis of established standards, it is possible to
develop a detailed daily schedule of work, either by using
a computer program to calculate each detail and determine
all allowances, or by using a simple assignment sheet to
apply necessary standards and provide buffer times for occurrences of "non-scheduled" events such as re-run, utilities
failure, and unscheduled maintenance.
Ease of schedule development is one of the basic advantages of good performance standards but a schedule is not
essential to the accurate measurement of data. N evertheless, the development of a schedule, or even of a sequence
of tasks to be performed, provides good discipline for the
operating staff.

Analysis of the D'ata
The computer may be used to prepare the necessary
analytical reports, or the information can be summarized
and tabulated by hand. The major objectives of analysis
are:
• To compare the actual performance in each category with the established standard
• To determine the effectiveness of personnel
• To account for and charge to the appropriate departments the services supplied and to determine
total rental due
• To determine trends, and recognize their impact on
future data processing requirements
• To indicate management action where performance
is not satisfactory and to optimize effectiveness of
managemenet policies
To Compare Actual With Standard
To compare the actual performance III each category
with the established standard requires a summary of utilization by category, the calculation of the percentage distribution of categories, and the calculation of variance from the
applicable standards. The calculation of variance may be
in terms of frequency, and/or time, and may be expressed
in percentage points.

Standards for Programming Personnel
The methods for establishing and using standards for
programming personnel are:
• List. the tasks to be performed
• Group these tasks into major sets
• Develop relationships between these tasks and the
time required to perform them
• Develop a schedule
• Gather data
• Evaluate the data
• Management action
• Establish measures of quality
Listing the Tasks
The Ibasic tasks to be performed in writing a program are
listed in the sequence defined by methods standards:
• Read the job specification manual
• Review the program functions
• Analyze the layouts provided
• Review the program flowchart
• Develop a macro-block diagram
• Assign block letters to distinct segments
• Develop micro-block diagrams for each of the segments
• Review the macro- and micro-block diagrams
• Translate the program logic into symbolic language
• Develop coding for the item layouts
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

• Add the necessary standard subroutines
• Inspect the translation
• After key-punching and necessary EAM checking,
validate the preliminary listing
• Prepare the required test data
• Assemble the program
• Test the program
• Perform a production test with data supplied by
the analyst
• Assist in performance of a systems test
• Prepare the program documentation
• Assist in conversion
• Update the block diagrams to include all corrections
• Turn the program over to operations
Some of these tasks take a large amount of time, like
micro-block diagramming. Others are completed in a matter of hours, such as the addition of standard subroutines.
The accurate development of performance standards requires grouping of these tasks into measurable elements.
Relationship of Tasks and Time
The next step in the development of programming standards is establishment of significant time relationships between the programming tasks, and the nature of the program. This is a critical function which requires the
application of judgment and experience.
The initial approximation of time can usually be carried
out as follows:
a. Macro-Logic
• Reading the job specification:
Y2 to I day
• Review or listing ot the
functions:
~ to Y2 day
(These first two items are also dependent on the size of
the program. The total time lies between Y2 day and 6 days.
The difference is mainly a function of program complexity,
and, to a less extent, of program size.)
• Analysis of layouts:
~ day
• Macro-block diagram, pro·
Y2 to 1- days (depends
gram segmentation:
on complexity)
b. Micro-Logic
• Block diagram developApproximately ~ day
ment:
for each block, for a simple program; up to 10
days, for a complex program
• Logic review:
From Y2 to 2 days
(Micro-block diagramming depends mainly on two factors: program size, and program complexity.)
c. Coding
When block diagramming has been done well, the time
required for coding is proportional to program size. Between Y2 and l-Y2 days may be needed to complete ten
pages if the program is simple. A complex program may
require from 2 to 4 additional days to insure that linkage
between the blocks is properly established.
d. Inspecting ("Desk Checking")
The time required is a function of size and complexity.
Test data preparation is largely a function of size. The
total time for both tasks usually varies between 2 and 7
days.
e. Testing
The testing function includes compilation, which may
require 2 to 4 man-hours of programmer time for review
and correction of errors. The program time for each test
shot depends on testing practices; for illustration:
• 5 hours if testing is done at a remote computer by
the programmer;
• 4 hours if testing is done at the plant location by the
programmer;
• 2Y2 hours if testing is done by the operators following a documented test plan.

The number of test shots is also, of course, a function of
program complexity and size and, in some cases, of inputoutput complexity.
f. Documentation
Th~ time required to document a program is that which
is necessary to produce the:
• General description
• Detailed description
• Operator's instructions
• Miscellaneous sections of the manual
The bulk of the manual will already have been completed when the block diagrams and flowcharts are up-tocIa te. The standard time for the above listed functions is
a function of size and complexity. The number of pages
needed is estimated first and the time may be estimated
from this.

Development of a Programming Schedule
The first step in scheduling is to rate the programs to be
developed and maintained on the basis of complexity, size,
and input~output complexity.
Rating Complexity-The most experienced programmer
or supervisor should rate the program based on the system
flowchart. The same person should do all of the rating
so that all programs are rated in the same manner.
Rating Size-The same person who rates the complexity
should estimate the number of pages of coding. This rating can easily be checked against the number of pages of
coding actually produced. If there is consistent error in the
program size, all future programs should be corrected for
this error or the estimating method reviewed.
Rating Input-Output Complexity-This rating, preferably
accomplished by the same person, is a mechanical count
of the number of input and output units or tapes, which
the program uses. The objective is to measure the number
of distinct files which the program must control.
After the rating has been completed the man-days required for each of the taSks can be calculated.
Cathering Performance Data
Data must be gathered about the actual performance of
programming. Inevitably and unfortunately, this gathering
requires the same detailed record-keeping as is necessary
to obtain the data for equipment performance. The data
gathering is now applied to the programming staff, and
cannot be obtained mechanically.
There are difficulties since programmers often cannot be
persuaded or compelled to take the time to keep records
of their activities. Yet performance measurement data must
be obtained by program, by task, and by programmer.
Three kinds of perf9rmance data are needed.
Measurement of Quality-The measures which 'are established to evaluate the quality of performance are partially
subjective, and partially objective. Subjective measures include a rating of the documentation, and an evaluation of
the logical completeness.
Measuring the Validity of Standards-Data gathering
should include, for comparison to the standards:
• Number of test shots
• Number of compilations
• Number of pages of documentation
• Program size
Measuring Programming Time-The time spent by each
programmer on each task can be obtained in a number of
ways:
• From a report of progress by program, requiring the
programmer to record weekly the time spent on
each task.
• From a weekly report on which the programmer records all of his time. Subsequent distribution of his
time by program is then done separately.

• From a "Program Follower Ticket": When a program is assigned, a basic record and recording form
is created to stay with the program until completion. This method enables detailed evaluation by
program, but does not permit easy reconciliation
with the total hours worked by any employee. To
stay current it must remain with the work-in-progress; the manager, to make a status eva,luation, must
therefore go to each work station to get the latest
figures.

Evaluation and Use of Performance Data·
The astute manager is now in a position to analyze the
collated performance information, and use it for positive
management control. The objectives to be met in analysis
and evaluation may vary, but generally include the
following:
• Progress Reporting-By measuring over-all "efficiency" from over-all performance, it is simple to
determine the exact status of the entire development
program, and the completion date of particular systems, applications, and individual runs. This overall efficiency factor can be used to modify the overall schedule and all future planning,
• Budgetary Control-If the standard provesefIective,
the time and cost required to develop the remainder
of the program can be closely determined.
• Personnel Evaluation-The most common .reason for
performance evaluation is to allow an unbiased
evaluation of staff members. This is much to be preferred to intuitive evaluation, which tends to favor
the extroverted programmer.
• Functional Specialization of Personnel-One of the
most interesting byproducts of the use of task-oriented standards is the ability to recognize functional
specialization. Many programmers prefer program
testing; but almost as many consider machine operation, memory print evaluation, and all other tasks
associated with testing beneath their dignity and
prefer to concentrate on logical analysis. Others
prefer coding; some even prefer the rapid production of good documentation.
The development of task-oriented performance
standards tends to show which programmers are
most capable in each task. As a result, management
may decide to establish "functional" teams, consisting of a programmer skilled in logical analysis, a
good coder, a good tester, and a junior member responsible for documentation. This may prove quite
economical even though communications problems
may be increased.
• Program Assignment-The use of performance standards allows accurate estimation of the time needed
to complete a task. If a program is required before
the standard date, it is wise to assign a programmer
whose efficiency is greater than standard. Similarly,
an evaluation of the total time necessary to complete a series of programs may lead to· the important,
but often undetected, choice of the programs to be
started first. This is important in a 'development
program where the total load of required programs
exceeds the time available 1before machine installation. Rather than eliminate the documentation
function, at great risk and cost, it may be possible
to delay the development of programs not immediately required, such as those to be run annually.
• Setting Meaningful Delivery Dates-The use of effective performance standards 'can assist in determining a realistic equipment delivery date long before
the system is shipped, because the date of completion of programming will be determinedl
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

"ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK"
Computing and Data Processing Newsletter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

...
37
39
41
42
43

New Applications
New Contracts.
New Installations
Organization News .
Education News

New Products
New Literature
Standards News
Business News.
Computer Census

.44
· 50
· 50
· 51
· 52

NEW APPLICATIONS

COMPUTERS PROVIDE QUALITY
CONTROLLED CAR ASSEMBLY
AT CHRYSLER CORPORATION

A new computer-based quality
control program is in use at three
major Chrysler Corporation plants.
It hns been named the "Dynamic
Quality Control System" and uses
an IBM 1710 comp~ter complex and
357 data collection facilities at
each plant. The 1710 systems,
using simply coded data sent to
them via 357 data collection units
strategically located along the
assembly lines, provide quality
status reports for all levels of
management on a real-time basis.

jh.

The system has been in operation at the Plymouth Assembly
Plant (D~troit) since the start of
1961 mod~l production. It is also
in use at Dodge Assembly in Hamtramck and in the Los Angeles Assembly Piant, and is now being installed jn the Detroit Jefferson
Assembly' Plant, where Chrysler,
Imperial and Dodge 880's are built.
Fred M. ~lassford, Chrysler Corp.
vice president and group executive - car and truck assembly,
said that, all 1965 Chrysler-buili
cars wi 11 be "quality-controlled"
by electronics, and all corporation car assembly lines from
coast-to-coast will soon have the
system in full operation.
At the Plymouth Plant, there
are seven electronic reporting
centers on the five-mile long assembly line. As each car moves
into a ~uality reporting station,
inspectors carefully check to make
sure that everything is in place
and works as is intended. So intense is the survey that a tiny

screw not bedded deep enough in
the steel is deemed to be a defect.
The inspectors circle quality code
numbers on the inspection cards.
(There are six cards used to record the assembly history of a
car.) This information is relayed
electronically to a computer in a
central control room, which, in

The method of using digits to
represent parts of the cars permits
inspectors to check more than 6400
parts and some 4500 welds, more
quickly and easily than the few
hundred they were formerly able to
cover manually. The new system
has a potential of being able to
correct as many as 30,000 items a
day with 2000 cars in the system
at one time -- each having 6400
parts and 4500 welds.

-- Central Control of the
computer-based quality reporting system at Chrysler
Corporation's Plymouth-Detroit Assembly Plant.
turn, reports any demerits to a
correcting system before the car
moves into its next manufacturing
stage.
Meanwhile, the computer alerts
the area where the mistake was
made so that the cause can be corrected right at the source. For
instance, an imperfect weld will
be reported by the quality control
station and the computer will alert
the welding department so that the
welding gun can be checked. In
this manner, mistakes are corrected
before they get a chance to
multiply.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

-- Punching out the inspection report on cars
coming down the line is
the second step in the
computer-based quality
reporting system. The
operator takes the card
marked by the inspector,
punches out the information on a keyboard located right beside the
assembly lines, as shown
above, and the computer
in the central control
station has the data from
the report typed out for
scanning by line superintendents in a matter
of seconds.

Newsletter
The procedure takes place at
the three stages of paint finishing, at the electrical wiring
stage, metal finishing, parts and
hardware, instrumentation, drivetrain, chassis and final check-out.
(Each section of car assembly is
divided into three stages: production, inspection and repair.)
In the near future, the system
will electronically control ev~n
the balancing of the car wheels
and the idling of the carburetor.
The system is so efficient
it not only controls quality in
all the cars, but it also signals
the storage bank of hardware materials, seats, upholstery, lights,
engines, etc., to have them moving
to the right car at the right time.
It keeps track of whether the car
is a hardtop, a convertible, a
sedan or a station wagon so as not
to cause confusion. After storing
in its memory chamber the fact
that something might have gone
amiss somewhere along the assembly
line, it inquires at the final inspection if changes and corrections
were made and it reports to every
supervisor on the line and to
division and corrorate quality
control teams. "It never forgets
a car", Glassford said.

LEGAL RESEARCH IN THE FUTURE

State and federal officials
have had a look at how they may
do their legal research in the
future -- by asking a computer,
crammed full of law, to look up
the statutes and sections relevant to any given issue.
John-Horty, a lawyer and information retrieval expert who is
head of· the Health Law Center at
the University of Pittsburg, demonstrated the first operational
system for automated legal research
at the IBM Education Center in
Washington, D.C. He and his ~;o ...~
workers at the university have
been developing the system for
the past five years. It is now
being used to store on computers
all the laws of Pennsylvania, New
Jersey and New York; existing
federal laws; the health laws of
several states, and to create a
library of administrative decisions of the U.S. Comptroller
General for use by the Air Force.
The computing equipment used in
the demonstration was an IBM 1401/
1301 system.
Essentially, the way the system works is this: the laws are
put into a computer for storage
in their entirety. To retrieve
information, the lawyer or law-

maker feeds the machine words he
selects as pertinent to his topic,
and the machine furnishes either
the full text or citations to all
laws which contain these words.
For most questions, the process
takes only a small fraction of the
time that it would take a lawyer
or law clerk to do the same job
manually. (For example, the computer used in the demonstration
can review up to 30,000 statutes
and produce the desired citations
in less than 20 minutes.)
The Pennsylvania statutes were
the first to be attacked on an experimental basis. Subsequently,
federal legislation was included
in the retrieval system, along
with all health laws of some dozen
states. Financial assistance was
received from the National Institutes of Health, Ford Foundation,
Council on Library Resources, Inc.,
and others. Later all the ordinances of the city of Pittsburgh
were added by the Center under a
contract with the City. The Center
now has contracts from the two
states and the U.S. Air Force for
systems that will be operational,
rather than experimental.
One of the first uses of the
New York retrieval system by the
Legislature there will be for a
proposed simplification and recodification of the state's education
laws. New Jersey plans to interest selected members of its state
bar and judiciary in using automated retrieval of legal information. The Aii Force system is to
enable military administrators to
find U.S. Code provisions and decisions of the U.S. Comptroller
General relevant to fiscal law
questions with the aim of saving
time, money and personnel.
The system, Horty explained,
is applicable primarily to statutes,
rules and regulations, but his group
is developing a similar system which
might be used for the storage and
retrieval of case law. On a national basis, Horty said, automated
legal research could save millions
of man-hours of work per year,
free judges for more courtroom
work and be of invaluable use to
legislators in helping them streamline the laws of their states.

A COMPUTER BUILDS SHIPS

Norwegian Veritas Company of
Norway is an enthusiastic user of
the Univac 1107 installed at the
State-owned Computing Centre just
outside Oslo. The organization is
responsible for research into shipbuilding methods and materials and

for approving the design of most of
Norway's ships. Whenever a new
Norwegian ship glides down her
builder's slipway into the waters
of a fjord, one can be certain
that calculations on the computer
have contributed materially to the
efficiency of her construction.
Norwegian Veritas, described
as a "Ship classification society",
was among the first organization
of its kind to set up a ship res~arch department.
Pri vately owned
by shipbuilders, shipowners and
marine insurance companies, it also
maintains a complete register of
shipping for all the Scandinavian
countries.
The organization began investigating ways in which computers
could be used to solve problems
associated with the building and
sailing of ships back in 1955.
First was calculating the stresses
undergone by the steel plates,
frames and girders which make the
hull of a ship. Before computers
were available, these were done
manually. It was impracticable to
calculate stresses on every part
of a construction, so figures were
worked out for the strategic points
and wide safety margin allowed
throughout. The speed, accuracy
and low cost with which these calculations could be handled by a
computer meant that every plate,
frame and girder could be taken
into account and a precise safety
margin worked out for each. As a
result of this work, therefore,
many of the steel plates on modern
Norwegian ships are thinner than
in the past but with no sacrifice
of safety. The vessel is more efficient and its cost substantially
reduced.
Success in this area led
Veritas to look for further applications. It was found that the
calculations for some of the structural members of ships could be
handled in the same way. Computers
were used for vibrational calculations, and in connection with the
design of engines where they worked
out the harmonic components of pressure within cylinders and the resulting static and dynamic stresses
on crankshafts.
One of the most ambitious projects afoot at the moment is the
writing on magnetic tape files of
all the thousands of standard rules
relating to the structure of ships.
In progress for some 2Yz years, the
programs have been adapted for the
1107 at the Norwegian Computing
Center (acquired in 1963). With
this scheme in operation, the computer is able to produce complete
construction specifications. And

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1961

Newsletter
the only data required by Veritas
is a simple outline arrangement
and a series of filled in forms.
Once the computer program gets
fully operational, the shipbuilder
will work on his drawings while
Veritas makes the calculations
for him.

DESIGN OF XB-70
AIDED BY COMPUTER

A computing record of 18,000
hours was set in designing the
XB-70 to meet the demands of trisonic flights. The staggering
amount of computer time was logged
on several IBM 7094's by North
American Aviation's Los Angeles
Division (Calif.) to help engineers create the revolutionary
design. By comparison, 1235 computer hours were used to help
translate engineering plans into
the hypersonic X-15 research rocket plane.
Twenty miles of taped information flowed through the computer
every day in support of the program. The resulting daily printout of computer-prepared material
is a stack some 10 feet tall. More
than 50 million punched cards were
used at the rate of l~ million a
month to solve the varied problems.
Paper tapes used to drive numerically controlled milling machines
(which in turn cut giant parts for
the XU-70) were prepared by the
IBM 70<)4.
In building the XB-70, one
objective was to develop a wing
shape which would provide the maximum lifting force at a minimum
cost in drag for the 2000 mph
speeds to be flown. As the external configuration was established and aerodynamic and structural requirements were met, some
5000 simulated computer flights
were run before the prototype took
its final shape. Major elements
such as the airfoil, fuselage,
fuel system and engines made individual computer trips before
the entire plane was "flown" to
mathematically check the effects
of forces, stress and the sudden
. ext reme temperature bui Id-ups.
Using the computer, engineers
were able to eliminate time-consuming electrical schematics for
the new bomber. Computer-prepared
wire lists with assembly instructions were printed out to tell
production qne;,crews where each
of the 30,000 wire segments
belonged.
The "shirt-sleeve" envir9nmen t of the XB-70, which enables

the crew to operate without cumbersome space suits at high speeds
and altitudes, also was simulated
on the IB~ computer.
The data processing team at
North American will analyze the
test information recorded aboard
the plane, during the taxi-tests
of the first XB-70 as it prepares
for intense flight testing at
Edwards Air Force Base.

NEW CONTRACTS

POTTER INSTRUMENT AWARDED
$1 MILLION PLUS CONTRACT
BY ICT

be able to monitor its 30,000 to
60,000 units of clothing in production at all times. Additionally, instead of following routine
inventory and surveys, the computer
also will be used for forecasting.

NORTHWEST ORIENT ORDERS
$2,000,000 SYSTEM

Northwest Orient Airlines, St.
Paul, Minn., has ordered a UNIVAC
490 Real-Time Computer System to
handle increasing passenger traffic.
The $2,000,000 system, scheduled to
go into operation in the first
quarter of 1965, will replace a
UNIVAC computer which has served
the airline since 1959.

International Computers &
Tabulators, Ltd., London, England,
has recently awarded Potter In~tru
ment Co., Inc., Plainview, N.Y.,
a contract in excess of $1 mi llion.
The award is for a production quantity of Potter MT-120 Digital Magnetic Tape Transports to be integrated in ICT's new real-time,
mUlti-program computer, the 1900.
This is the third significant
award to Potter Instrument by ICT
within the past few months.

ITT DIVISION TO SUPPLY
TRANS WORLD AIRLINES
WITH ADX SYSTEM

International Telephone and
Telegraph Corp.'s Data and Information Systems Div., Paramus, N.J.,
has been chosen to supply an ITT
7300 ADX Automatic Data Exchange
System to Trans World Airlines for
use as a message switching center
and for preparation of certain administrative management reports.
It will be located in TWA's downtown offices in Kansas City, Mo.,
where it will replace three existing electrome~hanical switching
centers -- two in Kansas City and
one at New York's La Guardia
Airport.

MEN'S FASHION FIRM ORDERS
IBM SYSTEM/360 COMPUTER

Michaels Stern & Co., Inc.,
Rochester, N. Y., has ordered a new
IBM SYSTEM/360 c01lputer. The men's
fashion firm will take first delivery of the new computer to increase j ts computer capabil i ti es
and have instant information and
control on orders, prOduction facilities and inventories. It will

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

-- Northwest Orient Airlines stewardess Marion
Patterson (r) and reservations sales agent Anne
Francis preview the
UNIVAC 490 Real-Time System being demonstrated by
UNIVAC computer operator
Patrick R. Smith.
In addition to handling passenger reservations, the new system will be used as a message
switching center, automatically
routing all company teletype communications. Message switching
will take place simultaneously
with the reservations function.
The large capacity and flexibility of the 490 also will permit
Northwest Orient to take advantage
of other computer functions.

BUNKER-RAMO 340'S FOR
GIANT COLONIAL PIPELINE

The Bunker-Ramo Corp., Canoga
Park, Calif., has been awarded a
contract by the North Electric Co.,
Galion, Ohio, to supply two BunkerRamo 340 computers that will be a

Newsletter
part of the ~upervisory control for
the massive 2900-mile petroleum
products pipeline system being
built by the Colonial Pipeline
Company between Houston and the
New York Harbor area. North Electric Company is the prime contractor for installation of the
supervisory system that will control operation of the entire network of 1600 miles of mainline and
1300 miles of spur lines.
The twin Bunker-Ramo 340 systems initially will be used to scan
the remote stations for abnormal
conditions and log out flow data
through the entire pipeline; they
will update all dispatcher information every ten seconds; and eventually will operate closed-loop,
allowing for completely automated
flow control.
Besides providing the computer
hardware systems, the Corporation
will be responsible for the programming and maintenance of the
340 systems. Delivery of the systems is scheduled for early 1965.

BANKERS DATA PROCESSING, INC.
ORDERS $3,000,000 IN
BURROUGHS EQUIPMENT

Burroughs Corp., Det roi t,
Mich., has reached an agreement
with Bankers Data Processing, Inc.,
Boston, Mass., to install an "online" computer system which will
supply the data processing requirements for a large group of savings
banks in the Boston area. Bankers
Data Processing, Inc., is a subsidiary of the oldest chartered
savings bank in the United States
-- Provident Institutions for
Savings in the To~n of Boston,
founded in 1816. The contract
provides for nearly $3,000,000
in Burroughs equipment, scheduled
for installation June 1, 1965.
The system's configuration
includes four Burroughs B283 solidstate electronic data processing
systems; 13 Burroughs Disk File
modules; 150 "on-line" teller's
window machines and 45 remote
terminal units.
Banks included in the orIgInal group are located from within a
few blocks to more than 50 miles
from downtown Boston. A number of
others also have the program under
considerati~n.
The data center
will be set up in downtown Boston
where it will be operated by
Bankers Data Processing, Inc.

that will augment the existing
Mark 80 Fire Control System installed aboard the earlier Polaris
su bmari nes .

DEFENSE COMMUNICATIONS
AGENCY AWARDS CONTRACT
TO DATATROL

The Defense Communications
Agency has awarded a contract for
$75,576 to the DATATROL Corp.,
Silver Spring, Md." to provide research and design services and
technical assistance to the National Military Command System Support
Center. Additional work is to be
performed on two programming systems perviously developed and implemented by DATATROL for the
Center -- a computer-oriented war
gaming model and a full-color information display system.

Each PTCCS will consist of two
general purpose, stored-program
digital computers, associated input/
output equipment, and an operator
area. The purpose of the PTCCS is
to perform initial calculations required for missile guidance to target and to make the results available for use in the Mark 80 Fire
Control System. The new systems
will provide greater flexibility in
botH target selection and operation
to the Mark 80 Systems.

CONTRACT AWARDED
INFORMATICS INC. BY
OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH

COMMERCIAL APPLICATION
OF REMOTE, ON-LINE
DATA PROCESSING

The Office of Naval Research
has awarded Informatics Inc.,
Sherman Oaks, Calif., a contract
for studies of future Naval Tactical Data Systems. The contract is
in excess of $300,000.

The Service Bureau Division of
Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., has announced their
first commercial application of remote, on-line data processing, as
a part of a major contract received
from the Signal Oil and Gas Compan~
Los Angeles, Calif. The system will
provide Signal with the power and
economy of one of the nation's
largest computer systems. With
direct access to CSC's large scale
1107 computer, soluti ons to many
of Signal's operational and engineering problems wi 11 be made available within minutes after data is
sent to CSC via telephone lines.

Informatics will survey and
analyze all applicable information
processing technology, making future projections as appropriate.
System design methodology will be
analyzed and developed. The effort
is directed toward Naval Tactical
Data Systems for the 1970-1980 era.

RUTGERS ORDERS PDP-5
FOR USE BY STUDENTS

The Electrical Engineering
Dept. of Rutgers University has
ordered a Programmed Data Processor-5 (PDP-5) computer from Digital
Equipment Corporation, Maynard,
Mass. The computer will be used
to give undergraduate engineering
students some familiarity with
computers and computing techniques.
The department plans to add an interface to an analog computer for
demonstrating hybrid computer
techniques and an automatic multiply and divide capability.

A UNIVAC 1004 card processor
installed by Signal at its L.A.
headquarters is used bo~h for direct input to the service bureau
in El Segundo, Calif., and to
print the results of the large machine's computations. Problem
solutions are provided as fast as
if the same computer were installed
at Signal's corporate headquarters.
Transmission speeds of 40,000
binary digits per second will be
possible. In effect, the CSC
system provides Signal with a
centralized computing facility.

MONSANTO ORDERS PRODAC 50
CONTROL DATA RECEIVES
POLARIS SUBMARINE
APPLICATION CONTRACT

Control Data Corp., Minneapolis, Minn., has been awarded a
contract of approximately $3 million from the U.S. Navy's Special
Projects Office for the Polaris
Target Card Computing Systems
(PTCCS). The new contract calls
for the design, development, manufacture, and support of the PTCCS

Monsanto Company's Inorganic
Chemicals Division, St. Louis, Mo.,
has completed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Corp. for the
purchase of a Westinghouse Prodac
50 digital computer. The computer
will be used by Monsanto for testing direct digital control at the
new biodegradable alkyl benzene
plant now under construction at
the company's Chocolate Bayou
complex near Alvin, Tex.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 196ti

Newsletter

NEW INSTALLATIONS

FIRST H·200 IN N.Y.C.
TO BE INSTALLED BY
DISCOUNT CHAIN

A softgoods discount chain
will beco~e the first user in
metropolitan New York of a Honeywell 200 computer, when the Atlantic Thrift Centers, Inc., installs
the H-200 in its home office in
Manhattan next month. The computer will handle the data processing
workload for more than 45 discount
department stores and 24 apparel
stores throughout the North, South,
and Midwest.
The system has a 12,384 word
memory. It can print checks at
the rate of 900 lines a minute,
and transfer sales and other information from its four magnetic
tape units at 66,700 characters
a minute.

AUTO CLUB OF MISSOURI
TO INSTALL GE·415

The Auto Club of Missouri will
install a new GE-415 computer at
its headquarters in St. Louis. The
system consists of the GE-415 central processor with a 32,768 character memory; four magnetic tape
handlers; a 900-card-per-minute
card reader; a 100-card-per-minute
card punch; and a 1200-line-perminute electronic printer.
The Club will process new applications, maintain current listing of all members, update the
membership file as necessary, as
well as handle all billing and
bookkeeping with the new system.
In addition the computer will analyze past road service records and
current weather forecasts to determine when and where motorists
are most likely to have emergencies.
The GE-415 is one of a new
generation of advanced data processing systems recently introduced by General Electric's Computer Department, Phoenix, Ariz.
(see Computers and Automation,
May 1964, p. 56)

SOUTHERN AIRWAYS TO
INSTALL RCA 301

The general offices of Southern Airways, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.,
will install an RCA 301 computer
system. Applications of the sys-

tem are planned in two phases -first, to process routine financial
reports, flight performance and
traffic data and, later, for scheduling aircraft maintenance, automating inventory control and preparing charts for aircraft loading
requirements at Southern's 48
airports in eight Southeastern
states.

The system configuration will
include a central processing unit
with 8194 characters of memory,
four magnetic tape units that
transfer information at the rate
of 20,000 characters per second,
a card-reader-punch and a 900 lineper-minute printer. It will handle
payroll, production scheduling, and
other general accounting work.

LTV MILITARY ELECTRONIC
DIVISION RECEIVES
ASI COMPUTER

FOURTEEN RCA COMPUTERS
TO BE INSTALLED AT
SEVEN STRATEGIC CENTERS

Advanced Scientific Instruments, Minneapolis, Minn., has
delivered an ASI 210 Digital Computer to Ling-Temco-Vought, Military Electronic Division Engineering Dept., Garland, Texas. The
computer will be used on an openshop basis within the Engineering
Department in the design of guidance and radar systems and other
ground-support equipment.

The U.S. Air Force Logistics
Command and the Radio Corporation
of America, New York, N.Y., have
announced that 14 EDP systems will
be installed in pairs at seven
strategic centers to handle, on a
priority basis, the flow of about
two million materiel items ranging
from washers to warheads.

The computer system consists
of a 210 central processor with
8192 words of magnetic core memory,
paper tape reader and punch and an
input/output typewriter. It is
the fifth ASI computer system to
be installed within the LTV Dallas
complex within the past twentyfour months.

ADVANCED MODEL COMPUTER
TO BE INSTALLED BY
ATLANTIC REFINING

The Atlantic Refining Co.,
Dallas, Texas, plans to install an
advanced model computer -- capable
of adding or subtracting six digit
numbers at a rate of 83,000 per
second -- in its data processing
center. The new machine, a GE-235,
has a basic memory cycle of six
microseconds (6/1,000,000ths of a
second) and will provide solutions
to scientific problems about eight
times faster than the earlier
model GE computer which it will
replace. It will also process
business data and management information systems for the company.

SUPERIOR COACH WILL
INSTALL H·200

The Superior Coach Corp., Lima,
will install an H-200 data
processing system at its Lima headquarters. The company, a major
manufacturer of ambulances, school
buses and funeral coaches, will replace an existing tabulating machine installation.
Ohio~

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

The new systems are in addition to the 30 RCA 301 systems already being installed at 10 key
sites in the United States to provide AFLC with more comprehensive
management reporting and faster
response to the needs of command
aircraft and missile units in all
parts of the world.
The 14 additional RCA 301's
will implement a Priority Distribution system geared to update inventory quickly as well as speed
shipment of priority items.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
INSTALLS PDP·4 COMPUTER

A general-purpose Programmed
Data Processor-4 (PDP-4) built by
Digital Equipment Corp., Maynard,
Mass., will be used by Columbia
University physicists to perform
multiparameter analysis of gamma
ray particles produced by a Van de
Graaff accelerator.
The Columbia system will include a PDP-4 with 8192-word memor~
console teleprinter, perforated
tape punch, data interrupt multiplexer and an automatic magnetic
tape control. University personnel
are constructing a special-purpose
cathode ray tube display to be
driven by the PDP-4. It will permit investigators to view various
presentations while the data is
being collected and processed.
The Columbia installation is
the first in which a PDP-4 will be
used for nuclear physics laboratory
analysis.

Newsletter
COMPUTER CONTROL
DELIVERS DDP-24
TO LTV

CONTROL DATA 3600
TO BE INSTALLED AT
UNIV. OF WISCONSIN

A DDP-24 general purpose digital com~uter has been delivered
by Computer Control Company, Inc.,
Framingham, Mass., to the LTV Michigan Division of Ling Temco Vought,
Inc., for use in the Army Lance
Missile Project. It will be used
in a hybrid capacity with an analog computer to simulate and analyze the flight behavior and control system of the Lance Missile.
It will also be used alone as a
general purpose computer for engineering problems. The DDP-24 is
installed at the Michigan Army
Missile Plant, Warren, Mich.

A Control Data 3600 Computer
System will be installed this summer at the Computing Center of the
University of Wisconsin, (Madison,
Wise.). The new equipment in combination with the University's existing system (a Control Data 1604)
will make this one of the most
powerful university computer centers in the United States.

AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY
INSTALLS NEW COMPUTER

The University of Melbourne,
Sydney, Australia, is installing
an IBM 7044 computer worth over
$2 million. It is the largest
university computer and the secondlargest IBM system in Australia.
This new system will replace
CSIRAC, the first computer built
in Australia. CSIRAC was among
the earliest EDP machines developed
and is still producing results for
the university's Computation
Department.
The new 7044 will operate at
the IBM Scientific Computing Centre
in the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda
until the university arranges suitable accommodation on its premises.
The computer has a co~plete package of programs which it will use
for commonly-encountered problems.
A number of different computer
languages will also be available
for those who will write programs
for the 7044. These include:
FORTRAN, COBOL, IOCS, SORT, and
BASIC MONITOR.

SOOth NCR 390 SERIES
INSTALLED IN
PHILADELPHIA BANK

The National Cash Register
Company, Dayton, Ohio, has announced
its 500th delivery of the 390 series.
The NCR 390 computer system has been
installed at The Philadelphia National Bank, Philadelphia, Pa.
The system will process commercial loan payments handled by
PNB's main office and 34 branches,
calculate borrowers' interest as
a by-product of the transactions,
prepare various management reports
and aid in the settlement of
accruals.

ORGANIZATION NEWS

The 3600 system will include
two smaller satellite computers
connected directly to the large
computer: a Control Data 160-A
will be used to pre-process input/
output data for the 3600; a 924
will be used for research in high
energy physics and will be able
to communicate directly with the
3600 for final computing and processing of data.
The new computer will be
used in research on nuclear energy,
numerical analysis, chemistry, engineering, the social sciences and
other fields.

UNILEVER AUSTRALIA
TO USE CRAM ORDER SYSTEM

Unilever Australia Pty. Ltd.,
(manufacturers and distributors
of soap products and food lines)
plans to install an NCR 315 computer system later this year. Program testing and trial runs for
the system will be done at NCR's
new computer center in Sydney
which will provide supporting
services for installations in the
area as well as contract data processing services.
The random access CRAM system
will be used for high-speed processing of customer orders and
analysis of product sales and
stock levels. Various technical
and research programs will also
be carried out.
The new NCR system will handle
some 25,000 accounts with an average daily invoice load of 28,000
lines. It will replace a punched
card system.

DIGITAL FORMS SUBSIDIARY
IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Digital Equipment Corp. Maynard, Mass., has announced the establishment of an Australian subsidiary, Digital Equipment Australia Pty., Ltd. at Colman House,
North Sydney, New South Wales. The
~ew affiliate will handle sales and
service of Digital's line of computers, circuit modules, and special syste~s throughout the Australian continent.
This is the third international
subsidiary formed by Digital in the
past year and a half. The first,
Digital Equipment of Canada, is
located in Ottawa; the second,
Digital Equipment GmbH, is in
Munich, W. Germany.

ELECTRONICS FIRM PURCHASED
BY RENWELL INDUSTRIES

Renwell Industries, Inc.,
South Hadley Falls, has announced
the purchase of Nashville Electronics Corp. of Nashville, Tenn., and
a 50% interest in Elcap Electronics
Ltd., in Hong Kong. Both are manufacturers of subminiature electrolytics.
Renwell also has acquired the
exclusive distribution rights in
the United States for polystyrene,
manufactured by Bolton Electronics,
Ltd., of Hong Kong.
Renwell manufactures peripheral data processing equipment, numerical control machines, and a variety
of components used in the electronics industry.

CONTROL DATA ACQUIRES
COMPUTER LABORATORIES, INC.

Control Data Corp., and Scientific Computers, Inc., (SICOM) of
Minneapolis, Minn., have announced
the acquisition by Control Data, of
Computer Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of SICOM. The agreement is
subject to SICOM stockholder approval. It covers the acquisition by
Control Data of all Computer Laboratories, Inc. stock in return for
an undisclosed amount of Control
Data stock.
Computer Laboratories, Inc.,
which will function as a subsidiary
of Control Data Corporation, is 3

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 19M

Newsletter
computing center organization located in Houston, Texas. It serves
the area's oil and oil exploration
industries, business and scientific communities.

NCR OPENS NEW DATA CENTER
FACILITIES -MORE DUE
OVER NEXT 16 MONTHS

The National Cash Register
Co., Dayton, Ohio has opened seven
new data processing facilities,
four of which are in the United
States.
Four of the newly opened facilities use NCR 315 computers
equipped with CRAM (Card Random
Access Memory) units. These are
located in San Francisco, Calif.;
Toronto, Canada; San Juan, Puerto
Rico,; and Dundee, Scotland. The
other three are smaller faci li ties
in Chicago, Detroit and Dayton.
They use NCR 310 computers equipped
with optical reading equipment.

March 1964, p. 42) with the remaining shares owned by Thompson Ramo
Wooldridge.

EDUCATION NE\A'S

Consummation of the proposed
program is subject to execution of
detailed written agreements and to
approval by the stockholders of
both companies.

PREPARE

OVERSEAS EXPANSION
ANNOUNCED BY DATAMEC

Maj or expansion moves into the
computer equipment market overseas
have been announced by Datamec
Corp., Mountain View, Calif.
A newly-formed subsidiary,
Datamec Ltd., will be responsible
for the digital magnetic tape unit
manufacturer's European operations.
Special studies by the firm have
shown a large potential for computer equipment sales in the
European markets, comp3ny officials
explained.

Other 310 processing facilities will soon be opened in Brooklyn, Baltimore and Kansas City,
wit.h 12 additional cities to receive similar services by late
1965. New 315 CRAM centers are
scheduled for openings this year
in Buenos Aires and Montreal.

At the same time it was disclosed that Datamec is establishing a distribution arrangement
for the Japanese market.

When the expansion program is
NCR will have data processing services in 50 major cities
in the United States and abroad
approximately double the number
presently in operation.

The Teleregister Corp., Stamford, Conn. and the Nippon Electric Company Ltd. of Tokyo have
signed a technical assistance and
licensing agreement which will
give the Japanese firm exclusive
rights to build, use, lease and
sell certain of Teleregister's
electronic data processing products in Japan, in exchange for
royalty payments and other fees.
Teleregister produces electronic
"on-line" systems for stock exchanges, brokers, banks, hotels,
airlines and other industries.
Nippon Electric, Japan's largest
producer of communications equipment, is establishing a permanent
facility in Tokyo in which Teleregister products, connected to
high speed NEAC real time computers
built by the Japanese firm, are
being demonstrated.

co~pleted,

TELEREGISTER, .BUNKER.RAMO
TO COMBINE CORPORATIONS

The Teleregister Corp., Stamford, Conn., has announced that it
has reached agreement in principle
wit.h The Bunker-Ramo Corp. under
which the assets and business of
the two corporations would be combined. Under the proposed program
Teleregister will issue an additional 4,939,000 shares of stock,
of which 1,400,000 shar~s will be
sold to Martin Marietta Corp. and
Thompson Ramo Wooldridge for cash
at $15 per share. The balance
will be issued to acquire all of
the assets of The Bunker-Ramo
Corporat ion.

TELEREGISTER·NIPPON AGREEMENT

Teleregister is also provid~
ing the Tokyo firm with syst~~s
design engineering and marketing
assistance.

Ownership of the enlarged enterprise will be vested approximately 35% with existing Teleregister shareholders and the balance
with Martin Mari~tta Corp. and
Thompson Ramo Wooldridge. Martin
Marietta now owns 90% of BunkerRamo (see Computers & Automation,
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

Project PHEPAHE (~lan for ~e
training of ~mployabl(~ Ecrsons ~s
Related to EUP) is the first fullscale program, under the Uni ted
States Manpower Development and
Training Act (MOTA), for the training of unskilled workers in the
electronic data processing field.
It was conceived by Hugh P. Donaghue,
President of DATATROL Corporation
(Silver Spring, Md.), and will be
supervised by the DATATROL staff.
PREPARE is a seven-to-nine
month course in which 35 unemployed
or partially employed workers of
limited educational background and
skills will be trained as operators
and programmers in EDP. The group
of students range in age from 18
to 46, a majority are Negroes, and
four are women. The average educational level is approximately
that of a high school graduate.
Students were selected from
hunjreds of applicants after being
screened by the Department of Labor
(which administers the MOTA). Nine
separate aptitude, intelligence and
educational tests were given to interested candidates. The top 60
candidates who passed these tests
were further tested by DATATROL
Corporation for aptitude in electronic data processing. The final
35 candidates were selected following personal interviews by Donald
Finlayson, DATATROL Project
Director.
The PREPARE course is divided
into three phases. All students
will participate in the first phase,
which will last for ten weeks and
will determine their ability and
aptitude for specific areas of electronic data processing. After this
ten-week course they will be placed
in separate "tracks" leading to
training as Electronic Accounting
Machine operators, or computer operators, or computer programmers.
The students will all attend
mathematics and English classes in
one of the Washington D.C. public
schools for two hours daily. The
content will be oriented specifically towards appreciation of these
skills in terms of data processing.
They will then be transported by
bus to the data processing headquarters where they will receive
practical instruction from the
staff of DATATROL Corporation for
an additional two and one half
hours.

Newsletter
ANALOG SIMULATION AND
ENGINEERING ANALYSIS COURSE
OFFERED BY EAI

-- Victor R. Daly, Deputy
Director of USES for the
District of Columbia
greets the students ~f
Project PREPARE at the
start of their first
class meeting at Armstrong Adult Education
Center.
Before the Department of
Labor approved project PREPARE it
received assurance from privat~
industry that the students would
be employable upon successful completion of the DATATROL course.
Graduating PREPARE students can
anticipate salaries as trainees
ranging between $325 and $520 a
month, according to United States
Employment Service statistics -and following experience, national
salary standards indicate salaries
may range from $500 to over $1000
per month.
The District of Columbia office of t~e United States Employ~ent ServIce has the responsibilIty of supervising the total PREPARE program for the Department of
Labor. In the educational aspects
of the program, the United States
Department of Health, Education
and Welfare (HEW) is responsible
for the selection of the teachers
employed in the teaching of the
English and mathematics courses in
the District public schools and
for the monitoring of the general
educational design of the total
course of study.
The cost of necessary subsistance of some of the students
during the training period will be
paid for by the federal government. DATATROL is donating the
entire teaching staff and absorbing other expenses involved in designing and implementing project
PREPARE.
This is the first coordinated
effort between the federal government and private business for training workers for a future world of
computers and automation.

One week courses in analog
simulation and engineering analysis are presented on a continuous
basis by Electronic Associates
Inc., Princeton, N.J., at vari~us
prominent universities throughout
the country, as well as at the
Company's Research and Computation
Centers. The intensive short
course will be offered this month
at the University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tenn. on July 20
'
through 24.
This particular course is designed to give scientists and engineers a working knowledge of
the analog computer and its applications. During the five day
course a major emphasis will be
placed on the solution of practical problems rather than on the
design and construction details
of computer hardware. In addition, methods, techniques and applications of analog computers
will also be discussed.
The prerequisite is a bachelor's degree or higher in engineer
ing, mathematics or a physical sci
ence, including one semester (or
equivalent) in differential equations. Tuition is payable in advance.
(For more information circle 26
on the Readers Servic~ Card.)

automatic decimal point-off multiple registers, and other ~dvanced
features make the 130 easy to operate. Basic operation of the machine can be learned in less than
fi ve minutes.
A main feature is the automatic transfer of terms or intermediate answers which permits a logical
flow of calculations. This feature
of automatic storage of intermediate answers in such a way that they
are always available for subsequent
usage, according to the problem being solved, is expected to have
particular appeal to calculator
operators.
The new calculator is being
manufactured at Friden's home
plant in San Leandro, Calif., and
is available for early delivery.
(For more information, circle 29
on the Readers Service Card.)

NEW PRODUCTS

NEW COMPUTER-CONTROLLED
DATA SYSTEM FROM PB

D igital

FRIDEN 130 AN
ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR

Friden, Inc., the whollyowned subsidiary of The Singer Co.,
New York, N.Y., has announced an
all-purpose electronic desk-top
calculator, the Friden 130. The
device is described as being a
very simple solid-state electronic
co~puter, combining the speed and
qUIetness of the electronic computer with the simple manual input
and operational flexibility of the
mechanical desk-top calculator
It is only slightly larger tha~ a
mechanical calculator in size.
The 130 operates at speeds
measured in milliseconds with answers appearing almost instantane-

ously on the screen as control keys
are released. The simple 10-key
keyboard and clearly marked controls,

Packard Bell Computer, Santa
Ana, Calif., has introduced a computer-controlled system, designated
the CDS250, for data acquisition
and recording; automatic testing
and checkout including integrated
circuit testing; pilot plant, process and manufacturing control; and
medical, biomedical and chemical
laboratory studies.
The new system is centered
the Packard Bell PB250 digItal computer, and includes a
Flexowriter electric typewriter, an
electronic multiplexer, a 64 KC,
12-bit analog-to-digital converter
and a buffer and control unit to
connect the system to data input
channels and to supply control signals to other system elements.
~round

Because the CDS250 system uses
a stored program digital computer,
it can be easily expanded or repro-

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 190/1

Newsletter
grammed, is adaptable to changes
in the number and type of inputs,
basic process or control or to entirely new applications. It is
contained in a single mobile rack,
delivered ready for use with no
further systems engineering required. A programming packaga for
system operation is included. A
two-week programming course and
three-week maintenance course are
offered at no additional charge.
(For more information, circle 27
on the Readers Service Card.)

INDUSTRIAL COMPUTER SYSTEM

A low-cost industrial computer system, called the M/97400,
has oeen announced by The Foxboro
Company, Foxboro, Mass. It performs data logging, alarming, process supervision and control. The
M/~7100 samples inputs from a variety of plant instrumentation
temperatures, pressures, flows,
and contact closures. The system
provides contract outputs and analoU signal outputs to operate
valves and set-point stations.
Its solid state digital computer
has n library of executive routill!!s that perform process engineering calculations and coordinate input-output. In addition it
prepares typewritten logs, punched
tape and can communicate with operntor c6nsoles and remote supervisory stations.
Internally, the computer includes magnetic core memory of
40~6 words, optional expandable
magnetic·drums to 65,000 words, a
complement of over 100 built-in
instructions plus indirect addressing and auto-indexing. The input-

output system is composed of satellite modules, each equipped with
individual buffering and priority
interrupt generators. Add-on
capncity both in the central processor and in all input-output

sections is provided through its
plug-in modular construction.
Engineering calculations and
input-output may be performed
simultaneously. Built-in automatic checking, over-load protection
and data protection against power
interruptions are also included.
(For more information, circle 31
on the Readers Service Card,)

H·300, SIXTH SYSTEM IN LINE

A small, low-cost scientific
computer, with fast processing
speeds and a wide range of input
and output devices, has become the
sixth major data processing system
in the Honeywell EDP (Wellesley,
Mass.) product line in four years.
The Honeywell 300 series is described as belonging to the same
computer fmnily as the Honeywell
200 (see Computers and Automation,
January 1964, p. 32). Each has
complete program and data compatibility as well as expandability
in terms of size, processing
speeds and storage capacity within
its own series.
The H-300 has a "family interface" uni t that permi ts it to oe
directly connected to its own or
any of 30 different input and output devices of the H-200, or to
the central processing unit of the
H-200. The" family interface"
permits either the H-200 or H-300
central processing unit, or both
units, to share common peripheral
terminals.
The new system is designed to
perform the complex mathematical
operations common to scientific
and engineering data processing.
A central processing unit with a
minimum of 4096 words of storage
is contained in the basic computer.
(A word is 24 binary digits in
size.) In addition, a control
memory, used in the execution of
scientific instructions, is also
contained in the H-300. Internal
processing takes place at a cycle
speed of 1.75 microseconds in the
main memory, and at 500 nanoseconds
in the control memory.
A standard configuration will
consist of a central processor
with either paper tape reading and
punChing units, or a typewriter,
or both, to handle input and output functions. A variety of scientific peripheral equipments will
be available along with H-200 peripheral equipment.

been implemented to give the H-300
additional capabilities in communications and business data
processing.
(For more information, circle 23
on the Readers Service Card.)

PDp·7 ANNOUNCED
BY DIGITAL

A fast, general purpose computer, the Programmed Data Processor-7, has been developed by
Digital Equipment Corp., Maynard,
Mass. The PDP-7 uses all-silicon,
10 megacycle processing circuits.
It has a 1.75 microsecond core
memory and an average high-speed
multiply time of 4.4 microseconds.
It adds two 18-bit numbers in 3.5
microseconds and performs a highspeed division in an average time
of 9 microseconds.
The typical system includes
processor, real-time control, highspeed mUltiply and divide element,
up to 32,768 words of core memory,
input/output typewriter, and highspeed paper tape reader and punch.
Like Digital's other PDPs, the new
computer is designed for scientific
and engineering calculations, experiment co~trol, on-line data collection and analysis, and general
computing applications.

An extensive programming system is available for the new PDP-7
and includes a FORTRAN operating
system, FORTRAN comuiler and library, symbolic ass~mbler and relocating linking loader, on-line
symbolic debugging program, symbolic tape editor, and arithmetic
utility, and maintenance routines.
(For more information, circle 30
on the Readers Service Card.)

Besides its scientific and engineering features, numerous design and program features have

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

Newsletter

Digital-Analog

Data Transmitters
and A/D Converters

BECKMAN/SDS INTEGRATED
COMPUTER SYSTEM

LDX TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

A solid-state computer system
combining standard analog and digital techniques into a single computer has been introduced by Beckman Instruments, Inc. (Fullerton,
Calif.), and Scientific Data Systems, Inc. (Santa Monica, Calif.).
The new computer, called the
Beckman/SDS Integrated Computer
System, is said to be the first
computer with capabilities for
solving separately and in combination the advanced analog and digital problems formerly requiring
the use of two computers.
The system will be offered in
a series of eight standard models
using one of two Beckman analog
computers and any of four SDS digital computers. The computer
shown in the picture below has a
Beckman 2200 analog computer and
an SDS 920 digital computer linked
together in an integrated system
with standard interface.

Anything written, typed,
sketched or printed may be transmitted electronically between two
distant points in seconds using
the LDX (long distance xerography)
System introduced by Xerox Corp.,
New York, N.Y. Xerox researchers
have tested LDX over distances upwards of 4000 miles and report excellent results at speeds up to
eight feet of copy per minute.
The system consists basically
of a scanner, a transmission link
or network and a printer. When a
document is fed into a scanner its
image is converted into electrical
signals for transmission over the
broadband communication links which
are now available. When the signals have been transmitted and received, they are converted back
into light images and the document
is reproduced ir. the printer
through xerography.
The scanner document handling
mechanism will accept documents as
small as 4 x 5 inches and as large
as 9Yz inches in width, and unlimited
length. The system can handle nearly all shades of paper since the
scanner automatically adjusts to
different paper backgrounds. Additionally, it has the capability for
scanning both positive and negative
copy and can handle tabulating cards.

The new computer will enable
scientists and engineers to solve
a growing class of design and
simulation problems beyond the
scope of conventional separate analog and digital equipment. It is
particularly suited to 'real time'
problem solving and simulation in
major aerospace and industrial
process control applications.
In addition, a complete programming system has been developed
for use with the computer. The
programming system instructs the
computer in how to analyze the
problem, determines which part can
best be solved with analog or digital techniques, and then controls
the various functions involved in
actually solving the problem.
(For more information, circle 32
on the Readers Service Card.)

-- The LDX Printer above,
reproduces in seconds even
though thousands of miles
away from the LDX Scanner,
below. Broadband transmission links join the
two units.

At the receiving end, reproduction is on ordinary bond paper
or offset stock. An automatic cutter trims the documents to size as
they emerge from the printer. Paper
is supplied from a 2000 ft-long
continuous web. A buzzer warns the
operator when the supply is running
low; the system automatically will
shut down before the printer is out
of paper.
The scanner and printer are
connected together by a supervisory
control feedback loop so that a
malf4nction in either of the terminal facilities or in the communication link causes the scanner to
shut the system off.
Applications for the LDX system are foreseen in any commercial
or government situation where a
volume of documents must move from
one point to another.
(For more information, circle 34
on the Readers Service Card.)

DATA-PHONE DATA TRANSMITTER
ANNOUNCED BY TALLY

Tally Corporation, Seattle,
Wash., has announced the availability of a data transmission terminal which can be used to send all
kinds of business and scientific
data over the telephone at 600
words per minute.
The new unit, known as the
Mark 10, can be used to solve data
gathering problems whenever collection from multiple points for processing by central computer or
other EDP equipment is required.
The data transmission terminal
transmits data on perforated paper
tape at 60 characters per second
using Bell System Model 402 DataPhones. Any Tally receiving terminal will relieve incoming data.
Size is only 8Yz" wide x 4" high x
11" deep.

-- Mark 10 with 402
Data-Phone
Typical applications include
inventory control problems found
in any kind of chain store operation, payroll and accounting prob-

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 19Gti

Newsletter
lems of any manufacturing or service organizations with many locations, field to laboratory data
acqJisition situations encountered
in missile and space engineering,
retro-chemical computer processing
control, etc. The terminal rents
for $25 per month.
(For more information, circle 33
on the Readers Service Card.)

FAPER TAPE TO
MAGNETIC TAPE
CONVERTER

Digi-Data Corp., Hyattsville,
Md., has introduced its Model 1810
Paper Tape to Magnetic Tape Converter. This is a small table top
unit designed to perform off line
conversion of all types of paper
tapes to computer compatible magnetic tape. Primary advantages
related for the Model 1810 arB:

(1) lIlodest cost; (2) simplici ty
of proCJramming by means of IBM
type plug board; (3) small space
requ i rt!lIlents; and (4) ease of
serv i el!.
(For lIlore information, circle 35
on tile Readers Service Card.)

Software·

SCERT PROGRAM NOW INCLUDES
ALL MODELS OF IBM SYSTEM/360

COMRESS, Inc., Washington,
D.C., has announced the inClusion
of the necessary hardware and software factors of all models of IBM's
new SYSTEM/360 in the computer progralll seERT (Systems and Computers
Evaluation and Review Technique),
used for evaluating systems and
comput (!rs. This brings the number
of cOlllputer systems which can be
simulated by the SCERT program to
seventy basic systems.
In addition, as a result of
recent European contracts for the
use of the SCERT program, SCERT
has /)(!I!11 translated and now pro-

duces its management reports in
seven different languages.
(For more information, circle 36
on the Readers Service Card.)

IBM COMPUTER PROGRAM
GIVES SECURITY ANALYSTS
WIDER MARKET VIEW

A new computer program, called
the Financial Analysis Program, has
been announced by IBM Corp., Whi te
Plains, N.Y. This will enable professional security analysts to examine a greater amount of useful
information in appraising common
stocks. The program makes it possible for an analyst to use an IBM
1401 data processing system to secure a variety of reports, which
free him from much of the clerical
work he must now perform in order
to assemble information on which
he bases decisions. It makes no
judgement on market prospects or
the prospects of individual stocks
-- but merely serves as a supplement to the analyst's ~ersonal
judgement, experience and the various teChniques he now uses in making stock evaluations.
For example, the program enables an analyst to secure -- in
minutes -- a complete ten-year
financial history of any company,
group of companies or entire industry before coming to any conclusions about stocks.
The Financial Analysis Program is designed for use with a
magnetic tape file containing information on the financial history
of any number of companies. This
would include balance sheet information, income statements and market
data. This tape, called a financial data tape, may be prepared by
the user or obtained from an organization which makes it commercially
avai lable. (IBM does not provide
financial data tapes.)
A user may tailor the new program to his specific needs. For
example, if industry or market data
is available, a comparison may be
made between such data and individual company results. Information
on as many companies as are desired
may be processed in a single computer run.
(For more information, circle 37
on the Readers Service Card.)

SDS ANNOUNCES ADVANCED
PROGRAMMING SYSTEMS

Sci ent ific Data Systems, Inc.,
Santa Monica, Calif., has announced
four new advanced programming sys-

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

tems for use with the SDS 900 Series
computers. The systems are:
(1) MONARCH, a batch processing
monitor system which permits the
sequential processing of intermixed
program assemblies, compilations,
and executions under typewriter or
card control with a minilllum of operator intervention; (2) METASYMBOL, a procedure-oriented symbolic assembly system consisting
of a high-level symbolic language
and processor; (3) Real-Time
FORTRAN II, an expansion of the
basic SDS FORTRAN II; and ALGOL,
a comprehensive implementation of
ALGOL 60, the international algorithmic language. All of the
systems will be part of the standard SDS software package by the
end of 1964.
(For more information, circle 40
on the Readers Service Card.)

IIMOVIE LANGUAGE II DEVELOPED
FOR MAKING ANIMATED FILMS
BY COMPUTER

A general programming language has been developed at Bell
Telephone Laboratories, New York,
N.Y., for making simple animated
films quickly and inexpensively
with a computer.
The "movie language", called
BEFLIX (Bell Flicks), was developed
by Kenneth C. Knowlton within the
fram·9work of the MACRO FAP programming language.

- Instr-uctions
for the desired
movie enter' the
computer as a
deck. of punched

-- Scene from l7-minute
animated film produced
by a computer programmed
in the new BEFLIX language. This self-explanatory film is entitled,
"A Computer Technique for
the Prod~ction of Animated
Movies" .
The language includes instructions for drawing pictures consisting of straight lines, arcs, complicated curves, letters, simple
geometric shapes and shaded areas.
BEFLIX also makes possible many
special effects, such as "dissolving" by gradually "sprinkling" the
new picture onto the previous one.

Newsletter
Computers can be programmed
with this language to make educational films and to generate visual displays for psychological experiments or depict certain of
their own operations.
(For more information, circle 39
on the Readers Service Card.)

NEW SMALL SCALE
MEMORY SYSTEM

machine is reportedly easier to
operate than existing equipment
and requires only about 10 per
cent of the space.
The Old Town machine can be
used to copy microfilmed documents
in banks, stores and other business
firms as well as in libraries and
educational institutions.
(For more information, circle 41
on the Readers Service Card.)

Information Retrieval

MICROFILM READER-PRINTER

The Social Security Administration has revealed a new automated device that can turn out a
copy of a microfilmed document in
less than three seconds. The
equipment, called a microfilm
reader-printer, was developed by
Old Town Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y.
It is designed to speed the handling of thousands of microfilmed
records annually processed by the
government agency, and is expected
to cut substantially the cost of
copying the records.
The electrostatic machine can
search through hundreds of microfilmed documents, extract the information needed in each document
and produce a composite print containing only the desired material.
The device can be instructed to arrange the information in any desired sequence. An 8" x 10" print
can contain data from more than 20
different documents.

Memories

PIGGYBACK TWISTOR:
NONDESTRUCTIVE
READ-OUT MEMORY

A new type of electrically
alterable, nondestructive readout
memory has been developed at the
Bell Telephone Laboratories, New
York, N. Y. The memory, termed the
Piggyback Twistor, operates in
microseconds and has a storage
capacity of more than 200,000 bits.
It is being investigated for applications in a number of telephone
switching systems.
The Piggyback Twistor uses
two magnetic materials: one to
store information, the other to
sense the stored information. Both
mangetic materials are in the form
of thin narrow tapes spirally
wrapped around a fine copper conductor. The tapes are wrapped one
on top of the other, piggyback
fashion; hence the name.
The Piggyback Twistor was developed by W. A. Baker from an
earlier invention of W. A. Barrett.
This memory has 4096 words, each
storing 54 bits of information.
Each one of the words consists of
a copper strap which is wrapped
around a flat cable containing 54
t wi stor wi re pai rs . A bi nary di git
(bit) is stored at the intersection
of each word strap and twistor pair.
There are more than 200,000 such
intersections in the memory. This
is called nondestructive read-out.
The contents of the memory can be
changed only when the proper combination of pulses is applied to
the memory.

-- New device can turn
out copies of microfilmed
documents in less than
three seconds.
A new processing technique
enables the machine to make prints
without the aid of developing fluid,
eliminating the need for "dark room"
in copying microfilm records. The

A new Random Access Disk File,
named the Model 80, has been introduced by Anelex Corporation, Boston,
Mass. The memory is a low cost,
high performance system. It uses
interchangeable disk kits, with a
storage capacity of 3.9 million 7
bit characters per kit. The disk
kit is a modular package containing
six disks. Kits are light, easily
interchanged, and provide protection for the disks at all times.
This system provides a storage capacity limited only by the size of
the user's disk kit library.

In previous nondestructive
read-out twistor memories, information content was changed by removing a magnet card and replacing it with a mojified card. The
Piggyback Twistor memory can be
changed automatically, by remote
control, and thousands of times
faster than card changeable memories.
(For more information, circle 42
on the Readers Service Card.)

The Model 80 is compact, about
the size of a bridge table. It has
all the built-in reliability and
ease of maintenance of the larger
Anelex Model 800 and 4800 files.
Designed primarily for use with
medium to small scale data processing systems and sub-systems, the
flexibility in data packing makes
it, sui table for application to
large scale systems as well.
(For more information, circle 43
on the Readers Service Card.)

FRIDEN 6018
MAGNETIC DISC FILE

The new Friden 6018 Magnetic
Disc File, introduced by Friden,
Inc., a subsidiary of the Singer
Co., San Leandro, Calif., operates
on-line with the 6010 computer.
Each side of a disc contains 960
individually addressable computer
words of 64 characters each, or a
total of 61,440 characters of online storage. The discs are interchangeable, thereby making off-line
storage unlimited.
Automatic address verification
assures that each record is properly
located. The variable length data

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

Newsletter
capability permits use of records
of any size. Data may be recorded
on the disc through the 6011 Flexowriterm or directly from the Friden
6010 central processor. An entire
system -- 6010 Electronic Computer
and 6018 Magnetic Disc File -takes up little more space than
a secretary's desk.
(For more information, circle 44
on the Readers Service Card.)

Only three strokes are required for a Chi coder operator to
encode an ideograph. After typing
in a top and bottom feature, a
typist has a family of ideographs
displayed to her on a screen. She

to transfer the data from tapes to
punched cards is eliminated.
Sales for all items can be rung
up anywhere in a store. A sales
clerk simply rings up on any register the price of the item along
with coded information such as department and style number. Finished
tapes then are placed on the scanner
and threaded automatically. Pertinent information is read by the 1285
and passed on to the computer which
then can update its records instantaneouslv for management review.

Input·Output

CHICODER MERGES
LANGUAGE, SCIENCE
Itek Corp., Lexington, Mass.,
has developed a new machine that
permits the rapid keypunching or
typing of Chinese, Japanese and
other Oriental languages. The machine, known as the Chicoder, was
sponsored by the Research & Technology Division of the Air Force
Systems Command at the Rome Air
Development Center primarily for
use in the Auto~atic Translation
of Ch i nese. It al so is expected
to have applications in computer
input/output, telecommunications
and printing.
The machine is readily operated by typists unfamiliar with
Oriental languages. In contrasi
to many devices invented over the
years to solve the problem, the
Chicoder is simple and inexpensive.
It is equivalent in circuit compll!xi ty to a standard electric
typewriter punch and only about
twice as large.
The device contains over
10,500 ideographs as well as mathematical symbols and punctuation

-- An Itek Chi coder operator is shown encoding an
ideograph from a Chinese
newspaper.
then selects the desired ideograph
by typing in its order number in
the family. Typists have achieved
speeds over 40 ideographs 'per minute with relatively little
training.
The same master matrix, which
can accommodate 30,000 characters,
is used for ideograph display and
print-out. A punched paper tape
record is also produced which can
be entered into a computer or into
a data set for transmission. In
a reverse mode, the Chi coder can
be driven by punched tape to serve
as a computer output printer or
message receiver.
Japanese characters have already been entered into the
machine, and other languages will
be added in the future.
(For more information, circle 45
on the Readers Service Card.)

NEW IBM UNIT SCANS
CASH REGISTER TAPES FOR
FAST COMPUTER PROCESSING
A new high-speed optical
reader has been developed by IBM
Corp., White Plains, N.Y. The
device can scan rolls of ordinary
cash register tape and transfer
the information to a computer at
electronic speeds.
-- Keyboard close-up
marks. These are recorded photographically in sets (or families)
having similar top and bottom features, according to a classification scheme first devised by the
noted author Lin Yutang. Key locations for only 36 top and 32
bottom features need be learned.

The new optical reader, IBM
1285, can read all entries on a
200-foot tape roll in three-and-a
half minutes at speeds up to 3000
lines a minute. By using cash
registers and adding machines
(equipped with certain optical
type fonts) as computer input
uni ts, the 1285 can speed the flow
of vi tal sales information to manufacturers and retai lers . The need

COl\IPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1961

-- IBM 1285 opt cal reader.
Small round screen above
control unit's buttons is
used to display characters
being read. Inset shows
keyb3ard used to enter or
change information.
The reader automatically skips
blank spaces on the tape, increasing the speed at which information
is read and transferred to the computer. If it locates a line containing a sub-standard character,
the 1285 marks the tape with a dot
at that point so a correction can
be keyed in later. The reader also can be programmed to stop when
it detects an error and display on
its screen the erroneous 6haracter.
The operator then can make a correction immediately by keying in
on the console only the nonreadable character.
The 1285 uses Solid Logic
Technology circuitry introduced
recently with IBM System/360, and
an electronic beam of light, called
a "flying spot", for high-speed
type scanning. It is designed for
use with IB~'s 1401, 1440 or 1460
computers and with the new
System/360.
(For more information, circle 50
on the Readers Service Card.)

SEFAC, ALPHA·NUMERIC
DISPLAY SYSTEM
Contronics, Inc., Boston, Mass.,
has announced a new system for
alpha-numeric display, called SEFAC
(§ystem for ~lectronic flight Announcement and fontrol). It was

Newsletter
developed from and incorporates
features of SAND. While the SEFAC
system was specifically developed
for airline customer arrival and
departure applications, its versatility, flexibility, and ease of
operation make it adaptable to
many applications.
The system can be broken down
into three main assemblies: (1)
the operator's console which houses
the alpha-numeric keyboard, the
special function command-control
panel, and the operator's monitor;
(2) the main rack assembly which
houses the magnetic core memory,
the system power supplies, the
digital logic, and analog circuitry
for the system; and (3) the monitors which actually display the information to remote locations in
the terminal.
When a key is pressed on the
keyboard, six bits of digital data
which define that character are
fed into the input of the magnetic
core memory in the main rack assembly where it is stored in ferrite
cores. Data is transferred out of
the memory through the digital
logic, is decoded, and a character
waveform representing that particular symbol is then fed to the
monitor inputs, and the character
is viewed on the screen. The special function command-control
panel permits the operator to
write characters in any of the
memory channels, to display the
written information on one of the
four output channels, and provides
automatic editing.
The standard storage medium
is a 4096 x 6 coincident-current
ferrite core memory system which
may be addressed randomly in
either a full cycle or half cycle
mode of operation. The system
uses a temperature stabilized
memory unit to maintain a fixed
operation temperature for the
ferrite cores. A data saver circuit is also used to prevent the
loss of information due to excessive a-c line variations or when
power is turned off or accidentally removed from the system.
All alpha-numeric symbols are
displayed in a continuous trace
which enables variation in the
size of characters. Characters
are generated constantly in the
character generator -- input information merely selects the correct symbol to be sequentially
displayed in position.
(For more information, circle 46
on the Readers Service Card.)

NEW LITERATURE

;:)IRECTORY LISTS AMERICAN
INTERESTS IN UK

A directory "American electronics and instruments interests
in the Uni ted Ki ngdom" by David
Rayner, editor (David Rayner Associates, London, England) is
claimed by its publishers to be
the most comprehensive list of
American interests in the UK electronics and instruments business
available at this time.
It is divided into two parts:
the first gives those American
firms which are the principals,
parents or licensors of firms in
the UK; the second part gives the
corresponding agents, subsidiaries
and licensees in the UK. The address of each company is given and
the entries are cross-referenced
so that the interests of large
companies are brought together.
The directory is available
from Bob Denham, US office ORA,
510 Madison Ave., New York 22,
N.Y., for $6.

USED EDP EQUIPMENT

Used electronic data processing equipment for sale is described
in Information Processing Systems'
latest Equipment Bulletin. Used
equipment wanted by buyers is also
listed. Copies may be obtained
from: Information Processing Sy~
tems, Inc., 200 W. 57th St., New
York, N.Y. 100l~

meetings in New York -- the first
time that TC 97 has ever met in
the United States.
ISO's proposal in the field of
optical character recognition covers a numeric set, three abstract
symbols and a control mark. It defines four standard sizes in standard shapes to allow optical reading
of imprints from credit cards, typewriters, cash registers and EDP
pri nters.
The new code for information
interchange includes recommendations for both six bit and seven
character sets. It identifies each
of the 64 (6 bit) and 128 (7 bit)
character codes in binary representation and ~ssigns to each code
an alphabetic, numerical or special
symbol or equipment control function. Some of the code positions
have been left unassigned to meet
the national needs of individual
countries. The code is generally
compatible with the American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII) approved by ASA (American
Standards Association) under BEMA
(Business Equipment Manufacturers'
Association) sponsorship last year.
Another proposal, also approved for letter ballot, specifies the method of implementing
this code in perforated paper tape.
The ISO draft proposal for
magnetic ink character recognition
deals with specifications for a
standard size and shape for numbers and special symbols that have
gained such wide usage in check
processing. Two different type
fonts identified as E13B and CMC 7
are being proposed. The resolution
notes that the two are "of equal
status and are not to be consid~red
as al ternati ves" .
The ISO meetings resulted in
the passing of 24 draft resolutions.
The American Standards Association,
the U.S. member of ISO, was official host under sponsorship of the
Business Equipment Manufacturers
Association. BEMA is also the
sponsor of a national standards
program under ASA procedures.

STANDARDS NEWS

CHARAtTER RECOGNITION,
INFORMATION INTERCHANGE
HEADED FOR WORLD
STANDARDIZATION

Worldwide standards on optical and magnetic ink character
recognition and information interchange between computers and business machines have been recommended for adoption by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO's Technical Committee 97 on
comp'.lters and information processing approved draft proposals of
these standards at a series of
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 19M

Newsletter

BUSINESS NEWS

BOXSCORE OF SALES & INCOME FOR COMPUTER FIELD FIRM;

CGA presents below comparative operating results
for firms of interest to computer people, as distilled from the latest group of news releases.
COMPANY

PERIOD

AddressographMultigraph

Nine months ended
April 30, 1964

Anelex

Six months ended
March 31, 1964

Audio Devices

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

SALES
Current ~eriod
Previous period
~1I31,699,329

(%)
(+5.8%)

$171,618,346
~9,074,563

NET INCOME
Current ~eriod
Previous period
~11,163,952

(+40.1%)

$529,986
$287,661

(+84.1%)

(+30.2%)

$139.063
$123,480

(+12.6%)

(+4.9%)

$668,405
$996,389

(-32.9%)

(-2.9%)

~l,910,OOO

(+11.0%)

President Eppert said the decline in revenues was due to
decreased military billings.

$150,000
$112,000

(+33.9%)

Chairman Clary announced an increase of 114% in order backlog

,305,810
$1,708,660

(+94.1%)

Company introduced 3200,8090,
and 160G computer systems in
last quarter.

$1,899,050
Beckman Instruments

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

~21,445,231

Burroughs

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

~87,563,OOO

$20,460,057
$90,160,000

$1,722,000

Clary

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

Control Data

Nine months ended
March 31, 1964

Documentation,
1 nc.

Year ended
March 31, 1964

Electronic
Associates

Three months ended
April 3, 1964

~6,984,OOO

General Dynamics

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

p77, 731,000
$349,662,000

General Precision

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

General Telephone
l; Telegraph

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

lIoneywell

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

~157,607.388

W\\

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

~831. 734 .938
$666,400,337

(+24.8%)

ITEK

Six months ended
March 27, 1964

~20.253,OOO

ITT

:n1
Nell

I'acknrd-Bell

Si IlUt:r

(+17.6%)

~82,

794 ,100
$40,411,190

(+105%)

~4,495,213

(+65.5%)

$106,996
$53,440

(+100%)

(+9.2%)

$458.990
$350,780

(+33.7",-b)

(+8.0%)

F,290,OOO
$4,904,000

(+48.8%)

051,293
$48, 224 ,241

(-0.04%)

$987,298
$783,672

(+26.1%)

~170,737,OOO

(+12.6%)

~25,387,OOO

(+15.0%)

748,000
$2,336,000

$6,392,000

~48,

$151,301,000
(+6.3%)

.822. 737
$78,593,023

(+46.1%)

Chmn. Watson noted that r~cent
computer purchases by federal
government helped substantial
gain in income.

(+26.1%)

$442.000
$314,000

(+40.7%)

~12,321,799

(+16.0%)

$6,164,156

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

~192.0791000

(+10.3%)

$1 74 , 495 , 000

Three months ended
March 31, 1964

Six months ended
May 3, 1964

~114

$10,662,682

(-20.5%)

$348,000
$752,000

(-53.7%)

Chmn. Bell noted that the tardily delivered PB440 exceeded
specifications.

(+8.5%)

~12.551.000

(+15.7%)

Figures include operations of
Friden; Inc., Singer's new
subsidiary.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for July, 1964

$10,805,000
(-0.06%)

$585,479
$933,999

(+16.4%)

$804,732
$1,130,838

$16,644,428
~22,618.673

Chmn. Oelman said results from
overseas countries were particularly noteworthy.

(+9.3%)

$188,358,000

$19,495,157

(+7.2%)

,093.471
$3,746,350

(+12.0%)

$27,553,000

~16.531.612

~20,878,OOO

$19,460,000

$125,021,703

~204.741.000

President Miller said sales
next year "might top
$6 million".

Increased income partly due to
recent sales of computers to
government, Chmn. Wishart noted

~8,260,043

$16,054 ,000

~21,922,OOO

President Hack said company is
developing special new tapes
for two computer manufacturers.

(+34.1%)

$147,582,300

~140,757,OOO

President Anderson expects
company's disk files should be
in production late in 1964.

$22,060,000

(+11.0%)

Six months ended
March 31, 1964

$2,714,569

P24.273.289
$292,507,492

Standard Register Three months ended
March 31, 1964
Whittnker

~2,

Thr
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